


Somewhere, Beyond the Sea

by alreadysomeone



Category: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:08:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28092927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alreadysomeone/pseuds/alreadysomeone
Summary: A young CIA agent needs Amanda for an undercover mission involving sail boats, Romanian decathletes, and a masquerade ball.  The story is mostly a Lee/Amanda romance.  Includes Intrepid!Amanda, Jealous!Lee, and a dash of Annoyed!Francine and Amused!Billy.
Relationships: Amanda King & Lee Stetson, Amanda King/Lee Stetson
Comments: 32
Kudos: 25





	1. Let's Get Away From It All

**Author's Note:**

> The “young CIA agent” is Clayton Webb from “JAG,” but this really isn’t a crossover fic, it's more like Webb is a special guest star. Absolutely no knowledge of “JAG” is necessary, though if you were a fan of Webb, you might get a few additional chuckles. Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

**International Federal Film** **  
** **Georgetown, Washington, D.C.**

Amanda entered the Georgetown Foyer of IFF well-prepared to give Mrs. Marsden the day’s password. Just as she confidently stated “potato pancakes” and was reaching to take her badge, Lee was almost down the stairs from the Q Bureau.

“Oh, Amanda, you’re here - good,” he said, touching her arm lightly while they went up the stairs that he’d just descended. “Billy wants to see us.”

“Well in that case…” Amanda now took Lee’s elbow and turned them around as they reached the top landing so they could go back to the lobby, enter the closet/elevator, and ride it down to the lower level to see their boss.

Knocking on the half-open door of Billy’s office, they received a hearty, “Come in Lee and Amanda,” from him.

Billy was seated at his desk and, as usual, Francine was sitting up straight in one of the guest chairs. There was also a third person in the office. Not quite as tall as Lee, the twenty-something year old man was dressed in an extremely well-tailored three-piece suit and he’d clearly just gotten his hair cut, which made him look even younger. Clayton Webb was leaned up against one of Billy’s bookshelves, and it only took one glance for Lee to recognize him.

“Clay Webb! Last time I saw you, Orlando was teaching you the ropes of Army intelligence in Grenada a couple of years before things really blew up there.”

Lee stepped forward and they shook hands warmly. “I heard about the work you finished up for him on that cruise ship.”

“Yeah,” Lee nodded. “Word is you’re a Company man now, Clay. How’s the CIA treating you?”

“State Department,” Amanda corrected.

Lee, Billy, Francine, and Clay all turned their heads to look at her. All of them except Clay wore puzzled expressions.

“Amanda, wha--” Lee started before she cut him off.

“State Department. Clay works for the State Department.” Looking at Clay, she smiled as she continued on in a tone that conveyed complete confidence in her facts. “Your mother told Mrs. Gravitz, who told Mrs. McKenna, who ran into Barbara Klein, who told my mother that you were working for the State Department.”

Lee’s mouth hung agape, Francine’s face froze in a mask of confusion, and Billy smirked with just a hint of pride until Clay spoke up.

“The ‘State Department’… ‘IFF’… you know the drill by now, Amanda. No one ever works where they say they do. And how is your mother?” he asked, gracing Amanda with a conspiratorial smile.

“Wait, you two  _ actually  _ know each other!?” Francine asked, blinking her eyes in disbelief.

Jumping in to explain, Amanda began one of her usual long-winded speeches. “Well... sort of. Clay’s family runs in much more affluent circles, but during my summers home from college I worked at the country club the Webbs belonged to. And you know how mothers like to talk about their children. Especially ones who’ve grown into handsome men who work for the State Department.” 

Clay flushed and looked down at his shoes while Lee stepped a bit closer to Amanda thinking, ‘ _ Who’s she calling handsome? _ ?’

Taking a quick breath that allowed no time for anyone else to speak, Amanda continued. “Oh, and my mother’s very well. I’ll tell her you asked after her. Wait. I won’t, will I?”

Amanda ended her monologue in a question as it dawned on her that running into Clay here at the Agency with him apparently  _ not _ being a State Department employee, she likely wouldn’t be able to tell her mother she’d seen him.

Chuckling, Billy answered, “Amanda, you’ll be able to tell your mother that IFF is working with another government agency on a project, which is true, and that Webb is working on the same project. What you won’t be able to say is that Webb wants to borrow one of our people for a CIA operation.”

Snorting in what he’d meant to be a teasing way, but which came out more annoyed, Lee protested. “So the CIA wants to ‘borrow’ from us? They always want to borrow from us! They didn’t call themselves ‘The Company’ until after the Agency was founded. Webb even wanted the code name ‘Tin Man’ back in Grenada, but it was already taken - plus, I hear you’re close with your mother, which is hardly heartless.”

Both Amanda and Clay noticed Lee’s use of ‘Webb’ instead of his first name as when he’d first come in a few moments ago. Hoping to mitigate Lee’s harsh comments, Amanda remarked, “I think it’s nice that you’re close with your mother.”

Turning his full attention on her, Clay accepted the compliment. “Thank you, Amanda. Besides, I’ve got a much better code name now anyway.”

‘ _ Is he flirting with her? _ ’ Francine thought. In a bid to get the meeting back on track and Clay’s attention away from Amanda, she spoke up. “Interagency cooperation is one of the hallmarks of my career. I’d be  _ delighted  _ to assist a colleague from another agency.”

Amanda bit her lips to suppress a smirk at Francine’s eagerness.

“Actually, it’s Amanda that I want.” Clay said, swinging his head back to Amanda once again and staring right into her eyes.

Three of the five people in the room spoke at once:

“Amanda?” asked Lee, his voice raised, sounding panicked.

“What?” Amanda said flatly.

“Why _? _ ” Francine asked incredulously.

Choosing to only address Francine’s question, Clay explained, “I need someone a little less… of a hardened agent.“

Amanda silently agreed with Clay’s assessment of Francine. There was an edge to her born of field experience and having to fight for respect in the ‘boys’ club’ world of intelligence. Amanda respected her for succeeding in a career that wasn’t easy for a woman to excel in. But whatever the assignment was, Clay clearly needed something other than those assets.

Still not understanding the young upstart’s interest in his partner, Lee tried logic and as calm a voice as he could manage to thwart the request. “Why aren’t you using a CIA agent?”

“Agency people have higher clearance - even the junior ones. Plus this assignment requires some special skills that Amanda has.”

“Oh, really. Like  _ what _ ?” Losing any inner serenity he’d managed to scrape up, Lee’s question came out harshly - as if everyone in the room should know that Amanda possessed no special skills, if any skills at all.

“Hrmgmmm,” Amanda groused quietly.

“I’ve got to agree with Lee on this. What skills could a divorced, suburban mother of two have that you could possibly want?” Francine spoke up.

Billy just sat there, waiting for the shoe to drop, thoroughly enjoying this particular part of his job.

“Well, we’ll be sailing a 55-foot Cheoy Lee ketch up to the Hamptons. And I happen to know from experience that Amanda is an excellent sailor - and swimmer.”

Billy smiled to himself  _ ‘And… there it is.’ _

“Just what kind of job did you have at that country club anyway, Amanda?” Lee queried, sounding as if she’d held some salacious position.

“Oh, I was a lifeguard,” Amanda began in the offhanded way she used to downplay facts about herself. “One of the perks of the job was sailing lessons with the Webbs.”

“And how old were you for these ‘lessons,’ Webb?” Lee continued to make the situation sound less than savory.

“He was the most adorable 13 year old,” Amanda answered, smiling at the memory.

“I bet,” Lee rolled his eyes. “Hang on a minute. It’ll take  _ days  _ to sail to the Hamptons!”

“Oh, but the timing works out perfectly! Mother and the boys will be away for most of the month, what with Phillip and Jamie visiting Joe’s parents and their cousins on Joe’s side while my mother’s women’s club is taking a bus trip to Florida, which doesn’t sound like much fun to me. It’s such a long drive and why would you want to spend all that time on a bus? Plus, it’s already getting warm and humid here, why would you want to go to Florida for more of that?”

Amanda’s overly specific explanation and editorial commentary surprised exactly no one.

“Are we taking the  _ Merrywood _ ?” she concluded with a question to Clay and her face lighting up at the prospect of being out on the water.

“Yes,” Clay answered before turning to Lee to explain the set-up. “And yes, it will take several days, but by the time we get there, we should be done with our work. We’ll be part of a convoy of couples on their pleasure yachts - mostly sailboats - stopping at yacht clubs up the coast, where there will be receptions, dinners, and socializing.”

“And… ” Lee ground out, anxious for more details regarding just what exactly Amanda was being dragged into, and not particularly liking how Clay seemed to linger on the word ‘pleasure.’

“And…” Clay repeated back at Lee with a light tone in his voice. “It should be a fun, easy assignment for Amanda. I need her sailing expertise but I also need her instincts for social situations and knack for getting to know people.”

“And…” Lee growled again.

“And…” Clay repeated back, his mockery now coming to the surface.

Francine’s annoyance at being passed over in favor of Amanda had dissipated in light of this highly amusing situation. She was now leaning back in her chair, loosely holding a file folder in her lap, and enjoying every moment of this testosterone-filled rally between Lee and Clay.  _ ‘Hmmm, Clay seems to be able to hold his own against Lee. I’m sort of sorry we’re not all going to be on this mission, this is too fun to watch,’  _ she thought.

“Our assignment is to spend time with Corneliu and Anca Lavric. Educated at the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies, Corneliu is one of Romania’s liaisons to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. You all know what a delicate situation Romania is for us - we thought we could work with them when they refused to participate in the Czeloslovikian invasion in ‘68 and again when they didn’t boycott the ‘84 Olympics. But the megalomania and abject brutality of Ceaușescu has proven otherwise.”

“That is exactly my point.” Lee poked the air with an index finger and started to feel like he could win this. “Amanda shouldn’t be involved in a dangerous situation like that.” 

“We’re not  _ going to  _ Romania, and don’t worry, the only contact we’ll have with any actual Romanians will be purely social.”

“That doesn’t make me feel much better…” Lee mumbled with a pout on his face.

“Well how about this,” Clay countered. “We’ve had word that Corneliu thought he could work from within the government to help his country, but is having serious doubts. We think his wife, Anca - former Olympic athlete, now coach of the Romanian swim team - is anxious for a better life for their children. Ascertaining how serious they are about defecting is the goal of this mission, which is why I need Amanda to pose as my girlfriend. It’s  _ just  _ information gathering.”

“Sleeping on a small boat, acting like lovers, and cozying up to Romanian government employees!?” Lee was no longer mumbling, and his pouty lips had turned into a line of brimming anger.

“First of all, the  _ Merrywood _ is hardly small,” Clay began with a wry grin. It’d become crystal clear to him some minutes back that Lee’s intentions toward Amanda were definitely more than professional and were hardly platonic. He knew that challenging Lee like this wasn’t the best path to smooth relations with the Agency, he just couldn’t help himself. Clay had known Amanda since he was a young teen and had admired her for just as long. She was no shrinking violet or ditzy suburban mom, and she certainly didn’t need to be protected the way Lee was positing. Protecting her from the perceived advances of another man… it seemed that Lee thought she needed that kind of safeguarding as well.

Billy coughed back a laugh.  _ ‘You really can’t make up better material than this _ .’

Francine took a moment for a serious look up and down Clay’s body, seeing if she could ascertain the validity of his veiled reference to the size of his ‘yacht.’  _ ‘Hmmm, hard to tell from this angle.’ _

“Second, we won’t be  _ acting like _ lovers, we will be  _ posing _ as lovers.”

Lee began to clench his teeth together and the hard muscles of his flexing jaw were clearly visible.  _ ‘If he says the word ‘lovers’ one more time…’ _

“Third… this event is a bit of a reunion among modern pentathlon athletes - at least the ones who sail - and I know Anca and Corneliu; they’re good people.”

“The modern what?” Lee challenged, while Francine perked up at the topic.

“It’s five events - hence ‘pentathlon’...” she began to explain.

“Yes, Francine. We all got that part.” Lee snarked at her like she was the classroom suck-up.

Undeterred, she continued. “Fencing, swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running.”

“Corneliu’s strongest skill was as a fencer; Anca’s was swimming,” Clay said.

“What’s your forte?” Francine asked, even more interested in the CIA agent now.

“I’m not bad at pistol shooting but show jumping is my  _ métier _ .” Reading Francine like a book, Clay purposefully chose to use the French word for ‘area of expertise’ knowing that if he hit the pronunciation just right, she’d be eating out of his hand.

And he wasn’t wrong. Francine smiled and absentmindedly played with one of her large and dangly earrings.  _ ‘Ooh la la, add flawless French accent and muscular thighs to his assets.’ _

“Anyway,” Clay went on, folding his arms across his chest to convey his continued nonchalance. “Since this is a couple’s regatta, Amanda will pose as my girlfriend, ‘Dwana M. Keatings,’ and we’ll just do some easy information gathering.”

“Amanda West King,” said Amanda in the same assured way that she’d declared Clay’s employer as the State Department.

“Huh?” Lee said, squinting at her in confusion.

“Amanda West King. Dawna M. Keatings. Amanda West King. It’s an anagram,” she explained, as if everyone should’ve untangled the puzzle so quickly.

Clay practically beamed at her. “‘Dawna’ will go by her middle name ‘Manda,’ which sounds close enough to ‘Amanda’ so we won’t have exposure on that front.”

“Hang on. Billy…” Lee began a panicked last ditch effort. “Isn’t Webb too young to be a convincing boyfriend for Amanda?”

He was sure Webb was acting out some schoolboy crush he’d had on her. Maddeningly, Lee couldn’t blame the man. At all. And precisely because of that - he  _ really _ didn’t like the idea.

Francine piled on as well, turning to face Billy. “Yes, and isn’t Amanda a little  _ old _ to be his girlfriend?”

Billy remained silent, gestured to Clay to defend the scenario, and Lee and Francine turned back to hear what he had to say. Billy and Amanda shared an unseen smile and miniscule eye-roll at the scene playing out in front of them.

“Well, Francine,” Clay drew out her name and aimed a healthy dose of barely-hidden carnal confidence at her. He didn’t even  _ glance _ at Lee (for his own safety), or spare a look at Amanda (for fear of embarrassing her). “Don’t you think people will assume that a mature woman would be able teach a younger man a thing or two? And that she might appreciate his… stamina?”

Amanda recalled what a clever conversationalist Clay had been as a teenager. His precocious vocabulary and wise-beyond-his-years impishness had developed into whip-smart instincts and clever wordplay. He was playing Francine and Lee like fiddles.

“A bit wet behind the ears to be taking an inexperienced civilian into the field - especially undercover - aren’t you?” Lee tried another angle and turned again to appeal to his boss. “Billy, maybe I should go with them.”

Clay turned to fully face Lee, he was not about to let Stetson downplay Amanda’s experience or skills. “From what my sources tell me, Amanda’s saved your butt in the field any number of times. And after two and a half years, I’d hardly call her inexperienced. Plus, how exactly would you fit into our cover scenario?”

Billy decided that, as amusing as this was - and it could probably go on entertaining him for hours - it was time to move on.

“Scarecrow, this is settled. I have every confidence in Webb’s plans and in Amanda’s ability to handle herself in the field.” Turning to Clay, he concluded, “When do you need her?”

“Immediately.”

Lee rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw while Clay continued. “We weren’t able to confirm that Anca and Corneliu would be coming until late last night. The regatta starts tomorrow. Amanda, you’ll need to do some packing and I’ll get a list to the CIA for some additional items. I assume you’ve got your own swimwear and basics, so they’ll supply sailing gear and some evening wear.”

Clay made a move to exit saying, “Thanks Billy, the CIA owes you one.”

Lee snorted and shook his head as he drew himself up to his full height and barely made room for Clay to squeeze past.

“Amanda, I’ll see you in the morning at the  _ Merrywood _ , she’s in her same slip. Francine. Lee.” Clay nodded his goodbyes.

Even after his departure, there was tension in the room, but Billy wasn’t having any of it.

“Okay people, unless you’d like to discuss this further - which I very much suggest that you  _ don’t _ \- let’s get back to our own work. Except you, Amanda - go home and get packing.”

Amanda thanked Billy, said a quiet ‘bye’ to Francine and Lee, and made for the elevator. She was glad there hadn’t been time to put her purse away in the Q Bureau. This way she could make an easy exit right after getting off the elevator in the Georgetown Foyer. She knew Clay had rubbed Lee the wrong way, and while it was funny in the moment, she didn’t want to discuss the assignment - or Clay - with Lee, whom she knew would be itching for an argument.

As a kid, Clay had sometimes been overly confident - even cocky - which didn’t earn him many friends. He knew exactly how to push people’s buttons. Amanda knew he’d picked up on how to push Lee’s right away. No wonder he was an agent, she thought.

She understood Lee not wanting her on a field assignment without him - Amanda wouldn’t really want Lee on an assignment without her there to back him up. Especially one that involved a member of the opposite sex and a week-long sailing trip. But she knew Clay could be trusted to be a gentleman and she was looking forward to the sailing. Plus, Amanda was proud that Clay had requested her for the assignment and that the CIA had approved it.

**END Chapter One**


	2. Me and Mrs. Jones

As Clay stowed his gear on the  _ Merrywood _ , his mood was upbeat. He was looking forward to this assignment. It wasn’t a ‘career maker’ or even particularly challenging, but he always enjoyed being able to indulge some of his personal hobbies on the job, and it was a chance to hone his cover skills. As soon as this case surfaced as a possibility, Amanda came to mind right away. His teenage crush had been the formative awakening of his sexuality and he’d thought of her with fond nostalgia ever since.

A couple of years ago, through the unsurprisingly active rumor mill in the intelligence community, Clay had heard that one of the Agency’s top operatives had found himself working regularly with quite the unconventional partner. The mockery in the grapevine gossip had gradually turned to amused admiration for how the suburban housewife had tamed some of the wild oats out of the famed Scarecrow. When Clay found out that Scarecrow’s partner was Amanda King and that she was ‘his’ Amanda West he could barely believe it… for about 30 seconds. Then it all made sense, he’d always known that she was special.

Hearing steps on the dock, Clay popped back up on deck to see Amanda approaching the  _ Merrywood _ .

“Just as gorgeous as I remember,” she said, admiringly.

“And you as well, ‘Manda.”

Clay recalled Amanda’s humor and interpersonal warmth as two of her best qualities and he hoped they hadn’t faded with time. If she was offended by his flirty remark, it was going to be a long assignment.

“Can I quote ‘ya on that?” Amanda quipped lightly as she hopped onboard.

They shared an easy smile as he helped her up and gave her a rundown of the day’s plans. “Today’s leg is a pretty long one, plus the Chesapeake’s a crowded route. But the schedule for tonight’s group get-together is light.”

Clay led the way to show her to the largest of the sleeping areas, where he opened the closet in which his tuxedo was hanging.

Amanda looked warily from him to the closet, to the bed, and back again. “Are we sleeping in here … um, together?” 

“No, sorry.  _ You’re _ sleeping in here - I’m in the bunkroom, but this has the bigger closet and I wanted to hang up my tux.”

“But doesn’t the senior agent get the bigger bed?”

Clay let out a small snort and a half-smirk played on his lips. “Did Stetson teach you that? The Agency has some odd conventions. Why would you give the junior agent anything less than optimal sleeping conditions when they need to be as well-rested as possible?”

“See, now that makes a lot more sense! When the boys were younger and we had them out past their bedtime we always made sure that Jamie got the best sleeping spot in the car on the way home so he could nap. Being younger, he didn’t tolerate the schedule change or missing sleep as well.”

Clay grinned at the homey image of Amanda making sure her sons were cared for in the best way possible.

Amanda busied herself tucking away her luggage and looking over the foul weather gear that the CIA had supplied for her in case of bad conditions. Putting her overnight bag in the closet, she noticed the garment bag hanging next to Clay’s tuxedo. Pulling up the plastic that protected the dress, Amanda examined the deep emerald green floor-length gown that the Company had provided for her to wear to the formal dinner the following evening.

“The CIA has good taste; this is beautiful,” she said, admiring the style and running her fingers over the beaded bodice.

Looking down and mumbling, Clay replied. “Oh, um… I picked it out.”

Amanda raised her eyebrows. “I’m impressed.”

Before he could stop himself, Clay replied with far more seriousness than he would’ve liked to show. “A stunning dress for a stunning woman.”

“Oh….” Amanda wasn’t sure what to make of the comment, especially when Clay turned away quickly to exit the bedroom. She hoped she wouldn’t need to have an awkward conversation with him about this being just business.

Over his shoulder Clay explained that there was also a necklace, earrings, and a bracelet to go with the dress. He returned a few moments later with the jewelry, which he’d retrieved from a small safe.

“Gosh! Not only will I look like a million bucks, but I’ll practically be  _ wearing _ a million bucks!”

“They’re mother’s. She doesn’t frequent the social scene as much these days. She’ll be happy that they’re getting some use.”

“I’ll be delighted to wear them, please thank her for me.”

Clay returned the jewelry to the safe while Amanda finished putting her things away. Back on deck a few minutes later, they chatted while readying the  _ Merrywood _ for her trip.

“Your co-workers are really something else, ‘Manda. I hope Francine won’t hold it against me, but I couldn’t resist baiting her. She was just too easy to read.”

“Ooh, she’ll have no idea she was being played! Be careful though, she’ll be after you for a date now that she knows your family owns a boat and that you’re a horseman who speaks French.”

“Hmmph,“ Clay said noncommittally before elaborating. “Well, she’ll have a hard time trying to track me down, I’m not in the country much these days.”

xxxxxxx

It was a gorgeous day with a swift wind that carried them atop the sparkling Potomac.

Clay smiled at Amanda, who’d put her her life vest on as soon as they guided the  _ Merrywood _ away from her slip. “‘Manda, you’re one of the best swimmers I know,” Clay siad, gesturing to the life jacket.

“Well, you never can be too careful. That’s what I always tell Phillip and Jamie. Someday they’ll be glad I did.”

Amanda’s practicality and grounded nature had been some of what caught Clay’s adolescent attention. She had been - and still was - beautiful and athletic, and she was the smart one among her lifeguard peers, but she never downplayed her intelligence to impress a boy.

“Gosh, I’ve missed sailing,” she continued, smiling and shaking her head slightly to let her hair blow back from her face as she looked into the wind. “I’d love to take Phillip and Jamie out some day, but it’s so darn expensive. Lee and I were on a mission a little while ago and we got to sail the Agency’s  _ Mata Hari II _ . Maybe they’d let me borrow her for a weekend. Of course, I’d have to explain to the boys - and mother - just who loaned me a yacht! And I’d like to have Lee along to help, but then that would raise all kinds of questions too...”

Amanda trailed off, pursed her lips in a frustrated line and fell silent. Her friendship with Lee didn’t necessarily have to be a secret from her family - an IFF coworker-turned-friend was perfectly plausible. But if their relationship kept going the way it seemed - and the way she hoped - well, she wasn’t sure she was ready to introduce him to her family quite yet.

Clay made a mental note to ask about her relationship with Stetson later. There was definitely  _ something _ going on there, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was and he sensed some worry on Amanda’s part. He’d be damned if he let anyone toy with her emotions.

Taking turns at the helm and at the lines of the sails, Clay and Amanda sailed the  _ Merrywood _ to the first yacht club on the schedule and tied her up in their designated slip.

Freshening up and changing their clothes into clean and casual outfits, Clay and Amanda sat at the galley table reviewing the backgrounds of their targets before going ashore to dinner.

“Anca and Corneliu met when they were each recruited into Romania’s Olympic training program as pre-teens and have been inseparable ever since. They’ve always been more friendly with their fellow athletes at international competitions than the rest of the Romanian team, which garnered them more than their fair share of surveillance from the Romanian secret police.”

“That’s just awful.”

“Yes. Corneliu stopped competing to focus on his economics career and Anca’s now coaching. They’ve had two children in the last three years and we think that between the increasing violence, worsening economic conditions, and the prospect of raising a family in those circumstances, they’re ready to come over. Or at least that’s the theory.”

“Oh, I bet it’s true. Parents’ instincts to protect their children are mighty powerful forces.”

“Exactly. I thought you could talk with Anca about her kids. You can include a bit of your real life into your cover.”

“So Dawna M. Keatings is a divorcée with two kids who’s romping up the Atlantic seaboard with her young, rich boyfriend?”

“Well… yes.” Clay found himself looking directly into Amanda’s rich brown eyes, his heart speeding up. What his younger self wouldn’t have done to be in this very position.

Amanda mentally kicked herself for letting her description sound so flirtatious. Clay was handsome, with light brown eyes that edged toward hazel, and he had a very appealing confident way about him. But there really was no actual attraction on her part.

“Clay… you know this setup is just part of the job, right?” Amanda said, knowing she sounded just like Lee. She hated when he gave this speech, but she was starting to understand why he’d felt it was necessary.

“I know that.” Clay rose quickly and walked toward the stairs to go up on deck. “We need to get going.”

xxxxxxx

Clay put his arm around Amanda as they walked into the dining room of the host yacht club, and scanned the room. It was a standard yacht club banquet hall with nautical flags at the front and photos all around the room of past board members, famous yachtsmen who’d been there, and awards that members had won. 

Mingling, eating appetizers, and sipping drinks, Clay introduced his ‘girlfriend’ to the couples in the room.

“‘Manda, this is  Julio and Beatriz Quintana. Julio is a star polo player in Argentina and when she’s not on the dancefloor in tango competitions, Beatriz is the real athlete in the family. She’s been on Argentina’s national pentathlon team since she was 16. Not that she looks a day over 18 these days.” 

Clay ended with a wink at Beatriz.

“Clay, you flatter me! You know I retired from competition years ago, right when you started in the juniors, si?”

“ Hello, how do you do?” Amanda smiled, shook their hands, and had a pleasant chat about their sailboat and the weather.

This type of exchange was repeated several times over with  Kyoji and Machiko Arakawa from Japan (Kyoji had placed well in the world pentathlon championships but likely wouldn't make the Olympics); Bengt and Karin Hallstad were from Sweden and appeared to be very young (Amanda thought that when her boys were that age, she wouldn’t let them sail on the Atlantic by themselves!); Jules Daussy and Heather Allenby (Jules was British; Heather, American; they’d fallen in love at the ‘84 championships and would both likely make the ‘88 games for their respective countries).

“Well, world championships for her; Olympics for him. The women’s pentathlon isn’t an Olympic event yet,” Clay clarified.

“Hmm, we think we’ve come so far…” Amanda commented.

Heather agreed immediately. “Right? Old boys’ clubs don’t die easily. Nice to meet you ‘Manda. I hope we can chat more later - I want to know all about what Clay’s like in real life, when he doesn’t have his game-face on.”

After meeting the Italians Marco and Donatella Borelli, Clay pulled Amanda to the side of the room and mimed sipping his drink while sharing his thoughts. “Italian my ass. You can hear their Romanian accents a mile away.”

“Really?!”

“Absolutely. And there’s no way they’re here because their ‘cousins’ - the actual Italian pentathletes - couldn’t make it.”

“Hmmm.” Amanda considered the situation. “I bet they’re here to keep tabs on Anca and Corneliu. I hope they didn’t do anything terrible to the real Italians.”

“I doubt it. They probably found out they weren’t coming and took advantage of the situation. Just in case, I’ll have someone check on the Lombardis to make sure they’re okay. I’ve  _ got _ to talk to Anca and Corneliu!” Clay looked around the hall and threw back the rest of his drink. “Like, right now.”

Taking off toward a woman who had just walked in, Clay left Amanda alone holding his now-empty scotch glass.

“Hmmm, we think we’ve come so far…” Amanda mumbled to herself, looking at the glass she was expected to dispose of.

She watched as Clay cosied up to Anca in what seemed to be a far closer than necessary embrace. Corneliu didn’t seem to be there yet and Amanda wondered if he’d mind. As she turned to find a place to ditch their glasses, Donatella appeared out of nowhere.

“‘Manda,  _ mi cara _ ! Are you going to just let your  _ innamorato _ paw at that other woman?!”

“Oh, you know how men are.” Amanda laughed nervously, the rasp in her voice coming to the surface, and not liking that Clay had brought undue attention not only to Anca, but to them as well.

“ _ Si _ ! And that is why you must claim  _ il tuo uomo _ !  _ Capisce _ ?”

Amanda barely held in her laughter at the way Donatella was throwing out Italian cliches and waving her hands around in a terribly stereotypical performance.

“Well, we’re really a very modern and open couple.”

Donatella’s eyebrows shot up alarmingly high. “ _ Oh mio Dio _ ! The French may be  _ bene _ with that, but…” she trailed off, shaking her head and waving her hands indicating her disapproval. 

“Excuse me.” Amanda made a hasty retreat, ditching the glasses at the bar, and approaching her ‘boyfriend’ from the side. She slipped an arm through his, pressed her chest close, and kissed him on the cheek.

“How dare you get away from me, Clay!”

While over used, the phrase ‘like a deer in headlights’ precisely fit the bill. Clay’s eyes went wide and he looked startled at first, then panicked. Gaping at Amanda then at Anca, then back at Amanda again.

“Donatella told me I needed to go claim my  _ tuo uomo _ .”

“I am so sorry,” Anca said. “I should not have been taking so much of Clay’s time. Clay and Corneliu and I became fast friends at the world championships in 1978 in Budapest. Clay, why didn't you tell me you had brought someone with you?”

“Oh, um. I…” Clay stuttered.

Seeing that she needed to take control of the situation, Amanda held her hand out to Anca, “Dawana M. Keatings.” Maybe I  _ am _ the senior agent, she thought. “I go by my middle name, please call me ‘Manda.”

Anca’s handshake was firm, and though her face had the look of someone who’d grown up in harsh and oppressive circumstances, her smile was warm. Amanda immediately thought how Anca must be worried sick over raising her children in Romania with what the situation was there. Her heart went out to the other woman.

A tall, dark, and most definitely handsome Corneliu joined them just then, giving Anca a peck on the cheek and enveloping Clay into a quick hug as he slapped him affectionately on the back.

“You must forgive us. Clay is like our long lost brother. We do not get to see him often enough.” Corneliu said to Amanda after the embrace.

“He’s told me a lot about you both. I’m happy to meet you.”

The small jazz combo in the corner of the room began to play, and Anca and Corneliu suddenly only had eyes for each other. Their mutual adoration sparkled in their smiles as they joined hands.

“You must excuse us, Anca and I seldom get to dance.”

“Oh, yes, of course!” Amanda said. “Dear, we should dance, too.”

“Really?” Clay said crankily, turning to Amanda, his nose wrinkling with distaste.

“Yes, really. We’re supposed to be a couple; we need to do couple-y things,” Amanda said quietly through a fake smile.

“Fine.”

Clay took Amanda in his arms in a formal dance pose.

“Relax.” Amanda tried to encourage him with a squeeze to his hand.

“Relax?”

“Yes,  _ relax _ .” She tried smoothing her hand back and forth over his shoulder to dissipate his tension, but she could barely reach because of the stiff way his arms were holding her.

“This is proper dance form.”

“This is proper dance form for dancing with your mother.  _ This _ is how you dance with your girlfriend.”

With her left hand, Amanda pulled Clay sharply forward and shoved his right elbow down from its absurdly stiff and elevated position. Wriggling her right hand from his grasp, she placed Clay’s left hand on her waist and then settled both of her hands around his neck.

Doing her best to project calm, Amanda could practically feel Clay’s deer-in-headlights expression coming to the surface again. He really needed to settle down. She suspected he wasn’t used to working a cover with a partner.

“Between this.” Clay nodded his head to indicate their embrace. “And you practically  _ pouring  _ yourself over me when I was talking with Anca, people will think….”

“That’s what they’re  _ supposed _ to think. And we have some making up to do. When you ditched me - holding your empty glass I might add - it was noticed.”

“By who?” Clay said, whipping his head to look around the room.

“Whom.” Amanda corrected, while craning her neck around to pull his focus to her.

“Huh?” he turned his attention back.

“It’s ‘by  _ whom’  _ not ‘ _ who _ .’ And it was Donatella, the very fake Italian. She was extremely clear about how I needed to go claim my  _ tuo uomo _ .”

“I  _ knew it _ !” Clay scanned the room for the woman.

“Don’t look around, you’ll make things worse! She was dropping more Italian phrases than Mama Celeste. And I know Italians can be animated when they talk, but I thought she was going to take off, the way she was flapping her hands around. She didn’t like the  _ very warm _ greeting you gave Anca.”

“Oh.” Clay said, feeling guilty about drawing attention to Anca.

“I played it off, saying that we’re a very modern and open couple. But we really need to look like an actual couple.”

Clay snorted, his dour mood dissipating quickly.

“What?”

“ _ Modern _ and  _ open _ ?” Clay leaned back to look at Amanda while raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“Oh dear. I meant that we trust one another and are affectionate with our friends!”

“Could be a good angle…” he started to ponder in an overly serious tone.

“I think the lesson here is that when your cover includes a girlfriend, you shouldn’t ditch her. It just makes more work to earn back a low profile.”

Clay sheepishly acknowledged that Amanda was right and they spent the rest of the evening dancing and trying to lay convincingly low.

Back on the  _ Merrywood _ , they retired to their respective rooms for the night. Once in bed, Amanda reflected on just how much she’d learned from the Agency over the past few years - well, from Lee really, and the hours they’d spent in the field. She was glad she could impart some of that knowledge to Clay. Amanda imagined Lee as a young agent learning the ropes from Harry Thornton and Paul Barnes, not to mention his own ‘older woman’ Emily Farnsworth, who’d taught him patience and control. Soon the subtle swaying of the boat lulled her to sleep while warm thoughts of Lee pulled at the edges of her dreams.

**End Chapter Two**


	3. Crazy Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

Clay and Amanda got the  _ Merrywood _ ready and out of dock in the early morning hours. Cups of coffee warmed them between handling the wheel and lines. It was going to be another beautiful late spring day but they had a lot of ocean to cover to the next stop on the itinerary.

Mid-morning, while on a long easy tack, they had a chance to chat. Ever since accessing her file, Clay had been incredibly curious about Amanda’s path from college co-ed/summer lifeguard to working for the Agency.

“Amanda… I’ve read your file, but I want to hear about your life since college.”

“My file?” Amanda turned to him, not understanding the question.

“Your CIA file,” Clay clarified. He thought it was charming that although she worked for the Agency, she wasn’t so enmeshed that the jargon was second nature.

“My CIA file. I have a CIA file? I have an Agency file. Of course I have a CIA file. You know, I bet there would be a lot of time saved if everyone shared their files.”

“Probably. So…”

“Oh, you know…” Amanda ticed her head to the side, trying to toss off the prompt. She didn’t really like talking about herself. Her boys, yes. But not herself.

“No, I don’t know. And I want to.”

She was touched by the earnestness of Clay’s request, so Amanda told him about how she’d met Joe just when he was starting law school at Georgetown, they dated, got married, had Phillip, had Jamie.

“Joe was passionate about helping people - especially those in third world countries in the most desperate of circumstances. I thought he’d join the Peace Corps for a couple of years... but he didn’t. For a while he was content with me, the kids, and Arlington. But it became clear that he felt… stifled... limited, I guess. He wasn’t going to be happy unless he was doing front-line work. And then I wasn’t happy, and the boys weren’t happy. So we got divorced.”

Amanda shrugged her shoulders indicating that while it was unpleasant, the split was inevitable.

“I’m sorry about that,” Clay said sympathetically.

“Oh, I’m not. I mean, I was, of course. But I’m not now. We’re both better for it. I wish he’d been around more for the boys in the last few years, but at least we aren’t fooling ourselves any more. Or making each other miserable.”

“So you decided on a ‘new you’ and joined the Agency?” Clay prompted, still very curious about how his teen crush had become an intelligence operative.

“Not exactly. Not at all, really. I’d been dating Dean - he was a tv weatherman.”

“Wait, the ‘Tri-City Weather Guy’?”

Amanda sighed. “That’s Dean.”

Clay gave a disapproving grunt and Amanda laughed - she couldn’t disagree with the sentiment.

“He was definitely a rebound guy. Very different from Joe. Dull, uninspired, uninspir _ ing _ . It took me a bit to figure that out, and to figure myself out. I hadn’t realized that I still wanted someone with Joe’s passion - just not Joe. Anyway, I had to drive Dean to the train station one morning - there was a 30% chance of rain and he didn’t want to leave his car outside at the station.”

Amanda looked at Clay just in time to see him take a breath and open his mouth to say something.

“Don’t.” She held up her hand. “I know, I know. It was a good thing I did though, because this tall, handsome man in a waiter’s uniform grabbed my arm and asked me to take a package, get on the train, and give it to the man in the red hat.”

“So you did, and the rest is history?” Clay was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more to the story.

“Not exactly. The train was full of Elk members, all wearing red fezes. I didn’t know what to do, so I kept the package.”

“What made you take the package in the first place? Not many people would agree to help a complete stranger like that.”

As he was saying the words, Clay realized that Amanda was one of the few who would always help a stranger in need.

“I think it was the sincerity in his eyes - he needed help. Lee had to track me down to get the package back, which I didn’t give him right away.” Seeing Clay’s questioning expression, she exclaimed “He could have been a drug dealer!”

“So your involvement with the Agency was a complete accident?”

“Yep. The first part anyway. I proved to be kind of useful on that case and then Mr. Melrose hired me on part time - mostly for secretarial stuff, especially at first, but also for random jobs with Lee.”

“Lucky bastard.”

Avoiding the comment about Lee’s luck - she wasn’t quite ready to dive into  _ that _ topic - Amanda asked, “What about you, Clay? I don’t think I saw you much past when you were getting your driver’s license.”

“My  _ mother _ didn’t see me much past when I got my license.”

“Anxious to stretch your wings?” she guessed.

Clay alternately studied the decking and the horizon as he spoke. “Yeah. I was being raised exactly in my father’s mold. St. Albans since the 4th grade - ‘good old STA’, horsemanship, sharpshooting, rugby. I needed to prove to myself - and them - that I could be my own man.”

“Ahh,” Amanda nodded her head, encouraging him to go on, she could see it was something of an emotionally uncomfortable topic.

“I had a handful of wild rides - literally and figuratively - and landed in a lot of trouble. The worst of which was ‘sullying the Webb name.’ In the end, after a stint with Army Intelligence, I guess I couldn’t overcome the pull of the family business --”

“That’s an awfully heavy burden for a young man.” Amanda spoke with compassion. “Your dad was CIA?”

“Yep. Mother, too; she still is. That’s classified information, by the way,” Clay said looking at her to emphasize the secrecy.

“Oh, of course. I guess you really  _ can _ tell your mother I said ‘hello.’ I always assumed your dad was a businessman who traveled a lot for work.”

“That was the idea… We didn’t see him past 1969.”

“Oh, Clay, I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“He was involved in a CIA operation in Vietnam over several months - years, probably. The circumstances were - and are - ‘need to know.’ He’s got a star on the CIA memorial wall, but that’s all we’re allowed to have.”

Amanda reached to put a comforting hand on Clay’s arm as he concluded, “That’s why I’m never having a family. I won’t put them through what mother and I endured.”

“You shouldn’t say that, Clay. Not if it’s something you really want. And things won’t turn out like they did with your dad.”

“No one can guarantee that.” Needing to distance himself so he could steady his unease, Clay walked a couple of paces away as he spoke. “I’m jealous of your simpler life, Amanda.”

“It’s not so simple, not after meeting Lee. Don’t get me wrong - I loved my life before getting involved with the Agency, but sometimes ‘simple’ can be a bit… oh, I don’t know… flat.” Amanda shrugged as she tried to find just the right descriptor. “But getting to make a difference, to have a positive impact on the world that Phillip and Jamie are growing up in… Trading away ‘simple’ was worth it. And having a family makes me more motivated.”

“That’s another funny thing about the Agency,” Clay said, turning back to face Amanda again. “They think they’re more ‘hard core’ than the CIA but they really value loyalty and family. The CIA will leave you high and dry at the drop of a hat.”

Amanda had never thought about the Agency that way, but immediately recognized the truth in it. Personal loyalty was core to Lee’s character, and it was a trait that their boss, Billy Melrose, modeled. Billy expected loyalty among and between his agents just as much as within his own family.

“You could have that too, Clay. I’m sure the Agency would be happy to have you come work for them.”

Clay looked uncomfortable and snorted a bitter laugh. “My mother would disown me. She’d rend her garments, cover all the mirrors, and sit shiva - and we’re not even Jewish. Anyway, what’s up with you and Stetson?”

Clay was more than ready to change the subject to what he considered a much more enjoyable topic.

“Me and Lee?” Amanda answered the question with a question - her usual deflection move.

Clay laughed, did they think they were fooling anyone? “He was ready to pummel me when I said I wanted to use you on an operation - did you see that annoyingly handsome jaw clenching and grinding? While it was fun to bait him, I also feared a little for my life,” Clay teased. “There’s clearly  _ something _ between the two of you.”

Amanda’s eyes darted around, not really knowing how to describe or define her relationship with Lee. “I don’t know… I mean, sometimes I think I know. We’re close… and have been getting closer lately. Dating maybe? But we sure haven’t called it that and we can’t seem to get past flirting. Maybe he’s not ready.”

“Whether he’s ‘ready’ or not, I can tell you one thing for sure - he’s smitten with you.”

“Smitten?”

“Smitten. Ensorcelled. Entranced. Trust me, from someone who’s been smitten with you… Lee Stetson is smitten”

“Oh, Clay.” Amanda looked down and hoped her reddening cheeks were camouflaged by the wind and sun on her skin.

“You knew that,” Clay said quietly.

“Yeah, I guess I did. It was flattering. Still is, but…” 

“Amanda, you don’t need to worry about me not understanding that we’re playing a cover… you are as beautiful and attractive as I remember - more so - but romancing you remains the precious memory of a teenage fantasy.”

“You really were a great kid - and have grown into a pretty great man. I’d love for my boys to meet you.”

Amanda was relieved that they’d gotten that out in the open. She was fond of Clay and would’ve hated for there to be that awkwardness between them.

“I’d love to meet them.” Clay looked up at the sails, assessing the wind and their course. He started toward the bow, but turned back to say, “ You should introduce them to Stetson, too.”

As they guided the  _ Merrywood  _ toward the next yacht club on their itinerary, Amanda thought about how much she’d like that. Having Lee as part of her  _ whole  _ life and not just her work life would be wonderful. They’d spent two and a half years building an abiding friendship and deep trust in one another, which Amanda knew would endure no matter how things progressed - or didn’t - with them romantically. Until she was sure of what her relationship with Lee would ultimately be, she wasn’t ready to introduce her family to him.

Amanda was certain of what she wanted from her relationship with Lee - how she’d like it to grow from the flirtation and physical attraction that was undeniable between them. But as well as she knew him, Amanda didn’t know what Lee wanted. Was it all just a diversion to make working together more enjoyable? One that was ‘safe’ because they were such good friends, so he could have his fun and then turn his attention elsewhere when another Randi or even another Leslie came along and caught his fancy?

Frustrated by the ambiguity and uncertainty, Amanda decided that if a resolution was to be reached, she wasn’t going to wait around for Lee to say or do something. She would just have to move things along herself.

As the  _ Merrywood _ sailed on relatively swift winds, Amanda felt an undercurrent of contentment and excitement. She liked having a plan and if this one worked out, it would be wonderful.

xxxxxxx

After mooring the  _ Merrywood _ , Clay and Amanda took turns freshening up in the small bathroom before changing into their formal wear for dinner. Clay went first, cleaning up quickly, and giving himself a fresh shave. While Amanda took her turn, Clay grabbed his tux from her closet and went to the bunkroom to change. He’d just finished tying his shoes and had walked out to retrieve the jewelry from the safe when Amanda emerged from her room.

“That was fast,” Clay said, his head bent as he worked the tumblers on the safe.

“Well, I was never too fussy about dressing up. I just put my hair up to keep the curls tamed, and even though tonight’s dinner is formal, I didn’t think I should do too much with my make up, you know? This gown is really something,” Amanda said, enjoying the luxurious emerald fabric and custom fit of the designer dress. “ Francine would turn a shade of green that would give this material a run for its money. Clay, how did you know this dress would fit me so well?”

C lay had turned around to watch Amanda as she rambled, not wanting to interrupt her since the monologue was giving him a much-appreciated opportunity to check out her beautiful, long form in the gown.

“I guessed your size.” Clay shrugged while his lips formed a mysterious smirk. “You look lovely, by the way,” he said as he reached to fasten his mother’s diamond bracelet on Amanda’s right wrist.

“Thank you,” she said, admiring the jewelry piece while being impressed that he accurately identified her size.

“Turn around.”

Amanda obliged and Clay handed her the earrings while he adeptly fastened the necklace for her. Facing him once again, Clay looked Amanda up and down once more while she admired how handsome he looked in his tuxedo. Straightening the handkerchief in his pocket before smoothing down his lapel, she appraised, “Lookin’ good there, yourself, kiddo.”

As they walked from the dock to the main building of the yacht club with Clay’s arm wrapped comfortably around her waist, Amanda thought about all the times she and Lee had been undercover at black tie events. In his tuxedo, Clay looked much like the cute boy she’d known years ago, while Lee always  looked  like a dashingly handsome man.

As Clay and Amanda entered the hall they were greeted by Anca and Corneliu. Anca smiled at Amanda, who read what she thought was a lot of tension in her face. Corneliu strode purposefully to Clay and enfolded him in a tight - and noticeably long - hug.

“Ladies and gentlemen, before dinner is served, we invite you to enjoy appetizers, drinks, and a little dancing,” the emcee announced as t he live band  started up and the  Frank Sinatra look-alike began the first verse of  ‘I’ve Got You Under My Skin.’

Corneliu finally released Clay, who nodded seriously at his Romanian friend, straightened out his tuxedo, and reached for Amanda’s hand. “Shall we, sweetie?

“I’d be delighted, dear.”

“Okay, what was that?” Amanda said as soon as they were on the dance floor.

“What was what?” Clay's nervous energy came out as sarcasm as he looked at her innocently.

Amanda gave him a classic ‘I know you know what I mean’ expression and he relented.

“Okay, okay. It’s a good thing I have sturdy lungs. I don’t think I’ve ever been squeezed so hard for so long. He whispered in my ear... come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever had a man whisper in my ear like that either. Hmmm, it wasn’t bad.”

Amanda could feel the nervous tension running through Clay’s body as they swayed to the music. Between that and the way he couldn’t keep his wry sarcasm in check had her worried about what’d transpired. “Clay, focus, you’re rambling.”

“Sorry. He whispered in my ear, ‘We know what you really are and you have to help us get out.’ He said it at least four or five times.”

Clay was starting to sound panicky, so Amanda tried to get him to focus on the facts.

“Did he say just  _ what _ he thinks you really are? Did he say the word ‘defect’?”

“No and no. If he hadn’t said he wanted help getting out, I’d have taken the first part as a threat. We were supposed to approach them - cautiously - without them knowing we were doing it! I didn’t expect anything like this to happen, Amanda.” The panic was growing in Clay’s voice as he spoke.

Using a calm but firm tone, Amanda said matter-of-factly, “Unexpected things come up in the field all the time, we just need to improvise a bit. I’ll see if I can talk to Anca alone tonight to get a sense of what they know. We’ll figure it out.”

“I’ve had to wing it before, but it was always with the opposition, never with friendlies.” Clay paused a moment before clarifying his true meaning. “Friends.”

“And friends in a business where there aren’t many are precious. Look, Lee and I have been in plenty of jams but we’ve always figured a way out. A  _ successful _ way out. This is no business for pessimists.”

“Thanks, Amanda.”

For about the hundredth time, Clay thanked the fates that Amanda was with him. He hadn’t expected her to have to coach him so much, but maybe it’d been in the back of his mind when he thought of her for this mission.

“For now, let’s just dance for a bit. We don’t want to run off with all this nervous energy. That won’t help anyone.”

Amanda coaxed Clay into slow, deep breaths by taking them herself, and he finally relaxed into her. Two songs later, they’d found their rhythm and both felt better able to tackle whatever came next.

Dinner was announced and just as Amanda was about to go freshen up she spotted Anca walking toward the hallway where the restrooms were located. Waiting a minute to be discrete, Amanda followed.

As she pushed the swinging door in, a familiar fake Italian accent reverberated off the tiles.

“Oh, excuse me, I was just going to freshen up before dinner. Sorry to interrupt,” Amanda chattered brightly.

“ _ Nessun problema _ ! I was just telling Anca that she, like you, must defend her place with her  _ signore _ .” 

Donatella looked quickly at Amanda, shooting her a threatening glare, while Anca glanced at Amanda, panic showing in her eyes. Assessing the situation, Amanda stepped into the restroom and positioned herself between Anca and Donatella to diffuse her power and signal to Anca that she was on her side.

Laughing louder than was natural, Amanda responded as she put her hand on Anca’s arm, trying to play the situation off as a bit of silliness. “Oh, I don’t think Anca has anything to worry about. Corneliu seems awfully devoted to her.” 

“ [ Oh,  _ poverino _ ](https://context.reverso.net/translation/italian-english/Oh%2C+poverino) dear!” It wasn’t clear if Donatella was calling Amanda or Anca a ‘poor thing,’ but as she went on - hands waving around - it seemed she was talking to both of them.

“Did you not see the way he held the American in his arms?!” she exclaimed.

“Ohhh, we’re all very very good, close friends.” Amanda continued to smile an overly-friendly grin while Anca nodded in agreement, trying to keep her face neutral.

“You Americans are too loose, but I would have expected better from you, Anca. You are a strong Romanian woman! You _must_ _not_ let your husband become involved that way.”

Donatella moved forward and jabbed a finger at Anca for emphasis before flouncing out of the women’s room.

Anca’s shoulders slumped and she looked exhausted from the interaction. “Thank you so much, Amanda. She makes me very nervous.”

“Oh, Anca…” Amanda embraced her and patted her back. “Are you okay?”

“I will be. Thank you.”

“You can talk to me  _ anytime _ , Anca. About  _ anything _ .” Amanda suspected there was more the frightened woman wanted to say but she was holding back, perhaps frightened by Donatella’s tirade.

“Thank you. We should find our tables for dinner before anyone comes looking for us.”

Anca dried her eyes and leaned in to the mirror to make sure she was presentable while Amanda touched up her lipstick and hair, not wanting to leave Anca alone.

Back in the ballroom, Clay helped Amanda scoot her chair in at the small table of four they were assigned to with the Quintanas. “What happened in the bathroom? You were in there a long time.”

“Thank you, dear,” Amanda said at full volume after which she whispered, “I’ll tell you later.”

While the dinner conversation was engaging - Amanda learned more about the Argentine tango than she ever thought possible, including that Clay was a passable  _ milonguero _ himself - and the food was delicious, it was a tense meal for Clay and Amanda. He was anxious to get the scoop from Amanda, while she kept glancing over at Anca and Corneliu - who were, thankfully, seated safely with the Arakawas.

After dessert and coffee were served, the band came back out and continued to play various Rat Pack hits.

“Shall we?” Clay said at the first possible moment that he could without being rude to their tablemates, while he stood up and gestured to Amanda, signaling that he wanted to dance.

They’d barely stepped onto the dancefloor when Clay hissed, “What  _ happened _ ? You were gone so long, then Anca came out looking like she’d been crying, and I don’t think anyone else could tell but you seemed shaken, too.”

“Oh, Clay, it was terrible. Donatella was in there berating Anca. She was flapping around wavering between threatening and humiliating.”

“Oh, ho, ho… the plot thickens.”

Clay’s usual sarcastic knee jerk reaction to stress surfaced again, which Amanda ignored.

“She seemed to relish the humiliation part. Anca held up really well, but it wasn’t pleasant.”

“What was Donatella’s problem?”

“It was just like last night with me, but this time she was suspicious of that hug Corneliu gave you. I told her that we’re all just very good, close friends. Donatella scoffed at our loose American morals and said she expected better from Anca, a ‘good Romanian woman.’”

“Not very subtle. And not very Italian.”

“No.”

They were quiet for a few stanzas of Dean Martin’s ‘You Belong to Me’ as they each digested the new developments.

“Thanks for handling that so well. You may have quelled a rumor that Corneliu and I are cheating on our partners, but I think we might now have to pretend we’re swingers with your ‘very good, close friends’ defense.”

Amanda couldn’t help laughing. It was just the right kind of humor they needed to loosen up and figure out what to do next.

“If Lee had known that was going to be part of our cover, he would have popped you one for sure!” Amanda tossed back, thinking that Clay’s humor reflex was a useful coping mechanism.

Anca and Corneliu stayed in each other’s arms on the dancefloor until the band wrapped up their session. It was probably the safest place for them since Amanda and Clay could keep a close watch through the evening.

Tailing the Romanians to their boat slip, Amanda pulled Clay into what would have appeared to an onlooker like a lover’s embrace as they lingered on the dock to be sure Anca and Corneliu locked themselves in safely for the night.

Back on board the  _ Merrywood _ , Clay and Amanda discussed their strategy.

“I don’t think Donatella and Marco will pull anything tonight, it would be too obvious. But we lucked out with the slip right next to Corneliu and Anca so we’ll hear it if they try.”

“Agreed,” Amanda concurred. “Tomorrow, we’ll divide and conquer to see if we can make sense of all these puzzle pieces.”

Amanda handed Clay back the jewelry to re-secure in the safe and she stepped out of her high heels with a sigh.

“Other than stumbling into nasty Romanian in-fighting and seeing your friends feel threatened - oh, and my feet are killing me - I had a lovely evening, Clay. Thank you.”

**End Chapter Three**


	4. The Great Pretender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

The next morning after the breakfast buffet an ocean swim was on the agenda. A simple ‘out, ‘round a buoy, and back’ race course was set and anyone who wanted to participate dove in at the sound of the starting pistol.

Clay and Amanda agreed that she’d do the swim while Clay stayed on the dock. That way they could keep an eye on all parties under their watch.

When packing for the operation, Amanda had thought about bringing her old lifeguard swimsuit, but even being in great shape - thanks to  _ Fitness with Dave _ \- as a woman in her mid-30s who’d had two children, her figure had changed, even if her weight hadn’t. She still favored Speedo suits for trips to the pool or the beach with the boys, so she’d packed her favorite black one-piece.

Both Donatella and Marco were to be swimming, while Anca and Corneliu stood with Clay watching the race get under way. Amanda dove in with more splash than she would have liked, but Clay was impressed with her form. ‘She’s still got it,’ he said to himself.

Nearly at the buoy - with Amanda and Heather vying for the lead - Amanda heard a faint, “Help!”

Lifting her head from the water, she looked around and spotted Marco flailing off to her right. Breaking away from the course, Amanda swam swiftly to him.

“I need your help,” Marco said as she approached.

“Stay calm and let me get to you. You’ll be okay.” Amanda used her best ‘mom’s coming to the rescue’ voice hoping to calm him.

“You don’t hear me! I need your help!” Marco bellowed.

“Yes, that’s why I’m here.”

Amanda had seen panicked swimmers before. It wasn’t uncommon for them to continue to cry out for help even after a lifeguard had arrived.

“No, I need your help  _ getting out.  _ I want to  _ come over _ and watch your television and eat your food,” Marco enigmatically pleaded.

Amanda thought his statements were awfully strange for someone who was supposedly in a life threatening situation. In the moment, she chalked it up to poor English skills.

“Yes, I’m trying to get you out of the water. You need to save your energy, Mr. Borelli.”

Even as she tried to maneuver the solidly-built and somewhat rotund Marco to back to the dock, his overly specific phrasing gnawed at the back of Amanda’s mind. Seemingly out of nowhere, Donatella came loudly splashing over, shoving Amanda aside and declaring, “I’ll take care of him!”

They left Amanda in their wake as Donatella all but dragged Marco back to the dock in what looked like a chokehold. Frustrated, mad, and  _ very _ suspicious Amanda followed them and hoisted herself out of the water and up the ladder to the dock. Clay was right there at the top, holding her towel open and wrapping it around her as she stepped to him.

He leaned in close and expressed concern as he whispered, “Are you okay? What happened out there?”

“I’m fine. But I don’t think Marco is.”

“Does he need medical attention? Donatella’s with him, but her attention doesn’t seem to include much actual assistance.”

Amanda turned her head to follow Clay’s gaze over to the Borellis where Donatella was scolding her husband in no uncertain terms. There was no ‘Italian hand waving’ or any apparent concern for his safety, just a lot of index finger pokes into Marco’s chest.

“No. I think he wants to defect.”

Clay turned to look back to her and deadpanned, “What?”

xxxxxxx

Unbeknownst to anyone in the yacht party, Lee Stetson stood across the small harbor, where he had a good view of the morning’s drama. He’d had to tamp down the urge to jump in the water as soon as he saw Amanda divert from the race course to help Marco.

As he watched, he was impressed with Amanda’s calm and her control of the situation. It occurred to Lee that he shouldn’t have been surprised - there was nothing more ‘Amanda’ than remaining calm and doing what needed to be done in any situation. But then the Borelli woman had interfered with the rescue and he wasn’t sure what to make of the scene.

He just knew that when Amanda got out of the water she’d stepped right into Webb’s open arms - okay, into the towel he was holding out for her.

‘Holding her a little close there aren’t you?’ he said to himself. ‘And just what are you whispering in her ear?’

Lee uttered a low growl as he clenched his jaw muscles. He walked back to his car to drive to the next yacht club while the boat party readied to launch. He would be keeping a close eye on things.

xxxxxxx

Amanda and Clay spent most of the trip sailing in silence, both mulling over the events of the past couple of days and wondering what would happen at their next stopover.

“Clay…” Amanda called as they lowered the  _ Merrywood _ ’s sails preparing to bring her alongside the dock.

Lifting his head from where he was securing the lines, Clay raised his eyebrows to let her know he was listening.   
  


Rather than speaking up, Amanda raised her eyebrows back at him, opened her eyes wide, and tilted her head to the slip just across the dock - where the Borellis were arguing.

Walking over to join Clay, Amanda observed quietly, “I’m pretty sure that’s not Italian.”

“Definitely Romanian.”

“Hmmmm.” Amanda intoned.

As they finished up every possible task on deck they could think of so they could stay watching Donatella and Marco, the couple’s argument seemed to be over. It ended with a splash as Marco dove into the water and confidently swam away from the boat.

Clay and Amanda’s eyes met, each knowing what the other was thinking.

“Yeah, there’s no way he was ‘drowning.’” Clay said, giving words to their thoughts and continuing, “Dinner’s on our own tonight before the rugby ‘friendly.’ I’ll try to reach Langley to see what they might have on our friends the ‘Borellis,’ then we can eat back on board.”

Langley proved to be no help at all, in fact they considered the operation to be over since Clay had confirmed that Corneliu and Anca were interested in defecting. The CIA was getting ready to turn the file over to another department to take it from there, and they didn’t think the ‘Borellis’ were worth their time to go after.

“Sometimes I can see why Harry Thornton started the Agency. Less red tape and more direct impact. Did you reach Stetson?”

“No, I tried him at home and then at the office, then at home again. I left a message and then tried again about 20 minutes later, but there was still no answer,” Amanda said with disappointment clear in her voice.

Clay cooked salmon fillets and a potato hash in the small galley and listened attentively while Amanda chatted about everything from her mother’s card club to the boys’ Junior Trailblazer troop, to the skills she’d learned from Lee and the Agency. “Lock picking is my favorite. I’m pretty good with the cyphers when they’re words - not so much with the numbers. But I can’t stand the guns.”

“You’re not the Agency’s typical agent by any stretch,” Clay observed lightly, looking up from where he was sauteeing the potatoes.

“No, I suppose not. But you’d be surprised at the obvious things these trained agents miss!”

“The intelligence community could use more unconventional recruits like you. Might put the ‘intelligence’ back in the community.”

After dinner, Amanda pulled out the loaf of her poppy seed cake that had been baking in the small oven. “That’ll cool while we’re out this evening. It’ll be nice to come back to later.”

The idea of a home where people did things like cook together and make poppy seed cakes to eat after they came home was something Clay had never known as a child. His mother didn’t cook or clean, they had ‘help’ for that. And she certainly didn’t engender a warm, welcoming atmosphere in their house with baked goods or any other type of comfort food - or comforting words, for that matter. Sighing at his nostalgia for a childhood he’d never had, Clay retreated to his room to put on his old St. Alban’s rugby jersey, shorts, and socks.

Amanda and Clay locked up the  _ Merrywood _ and walked along the dock toward the nearby sports field that the yacht club owned. Clay carried his cleats and put them on when they arrived, stowing his sneakers in his duffle and leaving it on the sidelines.

Amanda and Anca watched as the men - and a couple of the women - played a ‘friendly’ game of rugby. After only a few minutes, Amanda wasn’t sure there even was such a thing as a friendly rugby match. She winced each time a scrum came together with alarming force.

Across the field, Lee pulled out his binoculars, hoping he wouldn’t be spotted or kicked out for trespassing on the private property of the yacht club - he just had to know what was happening. 

By luck of a draw, Clay and Corneliu were on the same team so that as Marco seemed to target Clay every chance he got, Corneliu could run interference. But Marco continued to be excessively aggressive.

Lee didn’t like the way Clay was getting tossed around by Amanda’s panicked swimmer. There was something going on there and he planned to put in a call to Francine as soon as possible to see what he could learn about Marco and Donatella Borelli. 

On the field, the game was paused so Marco and Clay could tend to their myriad injuries. Grabbing his duffle, Clay walked into the locker room and directly into  Marco. He swallowed nervously while looking around hoping to find something - anything - that could possibly be used as a weapon if Marco turned this into a fight.

“I want to defect,” the large man said.

“What? What do you mean?” Clay tried to be cool and play innocent.

“You have to help, I can’t go back. I tried to tell your fellow agent, but the terror Daniela - uh, Donatella - ruined it.”

“Terror? She’s not your wife, is she?” Clay wasn’t ready to blow his cover just yet, this could still be a trick.

“No! She loves no one but her idol Ceaușescu. I am only here because my family wanted me to see the gross excesses of America for myself. But I love your excesses! Your food and television and bluejeans.” Marco - or whatever his real name was - looked wistful as he named his favorite capitalist goods. “I tried to get ‘Manda alone and it is why I had to hurt you - so I could talk to you alone. Please…” Marco held his hands together, reinforcing the begging in his voice.

“I  _ knew _ you weren’t Italian!” Clay said quietly, then louder, “How do I know you’re not playing me?”

“I have no proof, but I can help you capture Donatella. She has much information your CIA would want.”

“Okay, we’ll see what we can do.” Clay felt that he was being sincere. The desperation radiating off of him was palpable and his clumsy contact attempts went a long way to prove that he wasn’t a trained Romanian officer. “In the meantime, can you try to arrange your conversations with us in less injurious situations?”

Hoping to stave off the inevitable sore muscles, Clay walked to the showers and stood under the spray of hot water until the rest of the players came into the locker room for their post-game showers.

While Clay was in the locker room with Marco, Amanda and Anca talked, and Amanda tried not to worry.

“It’s nice that Corneliu was trying to protect Clay. I hope everything’s okay in the locker room.”

“Yes, Corneliu likes Clay very much.”

Amanda laughed a little bit, thinking of how Donatella had interpreted the two men hugging. Looking to her conversation companion to see if she was recalling the same thing, Anca clarified, “But maybe not as much as Donatella thinks.”

Glad that they could laugh a bit, Amanda gently turned the conversation to see if she could get some clarity on the couple’s situation.

“Tell me about your girls, Anca. I’ve got two boys, Phillip is 10 and Jamie’s 8.”

“Oh! Alina and Iona are two and one.” Anca’s face lit up talking about her children.

“So little! I remember when the boys were that small. Hold on to this time, it goes by so fast.”

“Yes…” Anca’s tenor saddened as she looked at her lap with downcast eyes.

“You miss them.” It was a statement rather than a question. Amanda knew the face of a mother missing - and worrying about - her children.

“Yes. And I worry so. Under our government, Romania has the worst childhood malnutrition in Europe.”

“Oh, that’s terrible for your little girls!” Amanda couldn’t imagine how Anca and Cornielu felt. Not knowing that Phillip and Jamie were safe and well cared for would be her worst nightmare.

“We do a lot better than most since Corneliu works for the government and I am part of the Romanian Olympic bureau. But we see tragedy all around us. While we eat moderately well, we are under more government scrutiny than others because of our positions. There is very little freedom. ”

“I can’t imagine…”

“Amanda…” Anca began quietly.

“Yes, Anca.” Amanda looked her directly in the eyes, trying to communicate that she could be trusted.

“I know Clay works for the CIA and I think you are an agent too, yes?”

“Ummmm. Yes? Well, I’m not really an agent. Not a full fledged one anyway. Oh, and I don’t work for the CIA. But I do work for a different American agency.” Amanda cocked her head to the side as was her habit when explaining something. “But you don’t care about that. You’re worried about your girls.”

“Yes,” Anca replied, tears forming in her eyes.

Amanda took her hand and stated emphatically, “Clay and I - and our agencies - will do absolutely everything we can to make sure you and Corneliu  _ and _ your girls are safe.”

“Thank you. I think you and Clay have noticed that 'Donatella' and 'Marco' aren’t who they say they are?”

“Definitely not. They’re not even Italian!”

“No, they are Romanian secret police,” Anca said quietly as she glanced around to ensure their conversation wasn’t being overheard.

“Oh gosh! Now I’m  _ really _ worried about Clay being alone in the locker room with 'Marco'. Or rather why 'Marco' is coming out but Clay isn’t.”

The two women looked to where 'Marco' had just walked out of the men’s changing room, expecting to see Clay emerging, but he didn’t come.

Turning to Anca, Amanda asked for one additional - but crucial - piece of information. “ Anca, where are your children right now?”

xxxxxxx

When Clay finally emerged from the locker room, he found Amanda waiting for him just outside the door.

“I was about to go in there looking for you,” she said.

“That would have been quite something,” he chuckled.

“One of my first assignments was to pose as a sports reporter. I ended up in the men’s locker room with an entire football team.”

“I’m impressed and very much want to hear that story some time...” Clay tried to sling his bag over his shoulder, but winced in pain and couldn’t help letting out a small ‘youch.’

“Clay, are you okay? Let me take your bag. Come into this light, I want to look at your face.” Amanda coaxed him into an illuminated section of the path next to the field.

“This is very sweet Amanda, but I’ll send you a picture - it’ll last longer,” Clay tried to brush off her concern with humor.

“Cute.”

“Yes, I am,” Clay countered, flinching as Amanda touched a particularly painful bruise on his cheekbone.

“Nevermind cute, I’ve changed my mind. You’re incorrigible. You know, you and Lee aren’t much different. Now stop moving and let me see that cut above your eye, it’s oozing.”

Amanda took inventory of his bruised and cut up face. Her hands were tender but efficient and Clay suddenly recalled her tending to his scraped knee when he was probably too old to really need help with a bandaid.

“Thanks,” he said, smiling at the memory and trying not to move but wanting to show he really did appreciate her concern and care.

“Let’s get you back to the  _ Merrywood _ so I can disinfect these cuts and put some bandages on a couple of them. We should put some ice on that shoulder, too.”

Across the way, Lee could see the way Amanda examined Webb’s injuries. She’d treated him to similar TLC numerous times, so he knew just how good her caring touch felt. Seeing Amanda apply that care to another man, however, most definitely _did_ _not_ feel good. As he kept watching, he recalled all the times she’d tended to others - Amanda showed attentive care to those around her so freely - it was one of the things that made her so… Amanda. He just sometimes wanted to believe that her sweet touches were reserved only for him.

Having been left - as a small boy - to be raised by his emotionally unavailable uncle, Lee hadn’t had any models or examples of loving relationships in his young life. It left him with a deficit of understanding of how to identify and express his own emotions, and with a lot of misunderstandings about how to react to others’ feelings.

It took into his mid-30s to realize that dating a series of ‘Bambis’ and ‘Randis’ wasn’t just unfulfilling, it was also depleting. Lee finally began to understand that a long term relationship was something he wanted and that he could have - but with what kind of woman?

After opening up to Amanda about Dorothy and the Oz network, Lee was certain she was the best friend he’d ever had. He felt a connection and closeness to Amanda that he hadn’t known was possible to have with anyone - especially a woman. But his ego and an unwillingness to completely let go of his lady-killer reputation prevented him from being able to see Amanda as a potential romantic partner.

When Leslie had come along, she’d seemed to represent many of the things Lee found attractive about Amanda, with the added cache of top-level security clearance and an objectively impressive job. It felt like the perfect solution: he could have a serious adult relationship with Leslie  _ and _ have Amanda as his best friend. It was this drastically misguided notion that prompted Lee to ask Amanda about her spaghetti-strapped dress so he could buy one for his ‘friend.’

The most uncomfortable ten minutes of his life - when Amanda and Leslie met - was followed by the most uncomfortable minute of his life - when he’d called Leslie by Amanda’s name. It had jolted Lee into the serious self-reflection he needed to understand that it was Amanda that he really wanted, not some poor imitation of Amanda. Only after untangling his emotions did it finally dawn on Lee that Amanda’s visceral reaction to finding Leslie at his apartment might mean that she felt as deeply for him as he did for her. He sure hoped that was the case.

xxxxxxx

After applying antiseptic to the cuts and scrapes that he could reach on his own, Clay sat as still as he could while Amanda addressed the ones on his face and recapped what they knew.

“Anca and Corneliu are desperate to defect and they’re worried sick about their girls, who are still in Bucharest. Marco and Donatella are Romanian secret police and Marco wants to defect, maybe just to get away from Donatella, who’s the wild card, or at least she’s the biggest threat right now.

“Okay, I think your face will survive,” Amanda continued, “but I wish we could get you a couple stitches for that one.” Amanda looked at the butterfly bandage she used on the deep cut above his right eye. Sitting back, she concluded, “Clay, we’ve got to get their girls out.”

They looked at each other, both knowing that it was the most uncertain and risky aspect of the case.

“We’re going to need a lot of luck,” Clay said grimly.

“I wish Lee were here,” Amanda said. “There was still no answer at his place when I called while you were in the locker room. I’ll try again in the morning and if he’s still not there, I’ll call Billy to see if we can get some back up.”

“Back up would be nice. I doubt Langley will be sympathetic - or much help - when it comes to the complication and resource risks it will take to rescue those kids.”

“The Agency will help, I know it. Even if it has to be done unofficially.”

“Agreed. Like I said, the Agency values loyalty and family.”

Clay and Amanda retreated to their beds and hoped that the help - and luck - they needed could be found in the morning.

Sighing as she snuggled down into the covers, Amanda hoped they’d be able to figure out how to get Anca and Corneliu’s girls out of Romania and safely to them. She thought about how Clay was right, the loyalty among Agency operatives always came through. Lee hadn’t abandoned her when she’d been captured as ‘the Scarecrow,’ consequences to his career be damned. Lee would have done anything to find Emily when she was missing in Austria. Even Billy had gone rogue to prove a friend’s innocence, and in turn, Lee and Amanda had worked unofficially to help Billy. 

Turning her pillow over and giving it a fluff and a punch, Amanda wondered where Lee was and why she couldn’t get a hold of him. She tried  _ very hard _ not to picture him out on a date as she did her best to get a good night’s sleep.

**End Chapter Four**


	5. My Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

Amanda recognized Lee long before the  _ Merrywood _ was anywhere close to the dock as they sailed her into the hosting yacht club’s harbor. Dressed in dark jeans and a light blue windbreaker, he squinted out over the bright water, watching as the boat approached with Amanda at the helm.

She was so glad to see him - both for the help he could offer Anca and Croneliu - but also for the warm butterflies in her stomach and the uptick in her heart rate, which illustrated her deep affection and attraction.

She thought how handsome he looked, strong and confident, but also comfortable and at ease as he waited for them - for her. Amanda couldn’t help the huge grin that brightened across her face. She thought he was looking at her the same way but worried it was wishful thinking and just a trick of the light.

As they finally pulled up to the dock, Lee’s expression continued to mirror Amanda’s and they beamed at each other, basking in the warmth of each other's gaze.

“Hello,” Amanda said.

“Hi.”

Needing to play his cover, Lee regretted having to push aside their reunion. “I’m Lee Steadman, from the  _ Seaboard Herald _ ,” he called out.

“You’ve  _ got  _ to be kidding me,” Clay said as he strode the  _ Merrywood’s _ deck toward Lee.

“Keep it down, will you, Webb? I’m here to help. I saw what that Borelli character did to you yesterday,” Lee whispered testily.

“Get up here,” Clay said, shaking his head, and waving him on board.

“You  _ saw _ that?” Amanda asked, her volume indicating the annoyance building up inside.

“Yeah, and I saw Mrs. Borelli push you aside from rescuing her supposed husband. I’ve been looking into those two,” Lee said as he boarded the yacht.

“You’ve been  _ watching _ us?!” Her annoyance boiled over into anger.

“Amanda, calm down. I just wanted to make sure Webb wasn’t getting you into anything dangerous.” Lee tried to defend his actions as he held his hands out, palms down, gesturing at her to lower her voice.

“While you were ‘making sure’ nothing dangerous was happening, I’ve been trying to reach you! We needed your help! We  _ need _ your help.”

Clay sighed. He was sure Lee’s protectiveness was driven by genuine concern - love - but Amanda was right to be exasperated. In any case, he didn’t want their argument to derail from the operation.

Stepping toward them, Clay broke in trying to sidetrack Lee’s attention. “You really use ‘Lee Steadman’ as a cover?”

Lee turned his head and looked confused. “Yeah, why?”

Clay shrugged. “Seems kind of flimsy.” He looked at Amanda. “What do you use?”

Amanda knew he was trying to distract from her escalating fight with Lee, and while she wasn’t about to let Lee off the hook, she knew the situation needed to be diffused so they could focus on the Romanian situation.

“Usually ‘Amanda Keane’ or something like that.”

“Are you two kidding me? How has that not blown your covers a thousand times?” Clay shook his head wondering what other kinds of amateur protocols the Agency allowed.

“Like using some kind of word scramble is any better,” Lee scoffed.

Clay knew he should probably move the conversation along since his tactic had already produced the intended effect of redirecting Lee’s frustration away from Amanda. He just couldn’t help himself as he set Lee up for one more jab using a bit of information he’d read in Amanda’s file. “We could switch to our code names. What’s yours Amanda?”

“Oh, I don’t have one,” she said, tilting her head to the side to indicate her indifference.

“That’s a bit insulting, isn’t it? Working with the Agency for two and a half years on multiple assignments, including undercover operations, and they still call you Mrs. King?” Though he was talking about Amanda, Clay’s attention was on Lee as he spoke.

“Well, what’s your  _ fantastic _ code name, Webb?” Lee snarked, recalling Clay’s comment in Billy’s office a few days ago.

‘Bingo,’ Clay thought, ‘trap sprung.’

“It’s ‘Sexy Beast’.”

Clay let the words hang in the air as he turned and walked a few paces away to busy himself with tying up the sails (which had most definitely already been secured). He  _ really _ didn’t want the smirk on his face to tempt Lee into popping him one.

“It’s  _ what _ ?” Lee called after him.

Taking a deep breath, Amanda used her ‘mom voice’ to get their attention. “You two are acting as badly as Phillip and Jamie. Lee, tell us what you know about the Borellis and we’ll catch you up on what we know.”

The trio headed below deck to make sure their conversation wouldn’t reach any eavesdropping ears. As Lee stepped into the private space of the _ Merrywood _ , he looked around with curiosity about just how Clay and Amanda were sharing the accommodations. Once seated at the small table, however, the pressing concerns of the situation took over and Lee tried to banish any images of their co-habitation from his mind.

Lee confirmed that the Borellis were neither Italian nor married. They were  Romainian secret police whose real names were Daniela Antal and Marius Nagy, and Daniela was the senior officer.

“That fits, he’s terrified of her. And he’s a terrible agent,” Clay said.

Amanda and Clay then each gave their first hand accounts of the tangles they’d had with 'Marco' and 'Donatella'.

“So we now have Anca, Corneliu,  _ and _ 'Marco' defecting,” Clay concluded.

“Lee, we’ve  _ got _ to get their girls out. When I think about if Phillip and Jamie…” Amanda looked into Lees eyes as she spoke, her voice rasping with emotion as she said her sons’ names.

“We will, Amanda.” Lee reached out to take her hands. “But right now I’m not sure you should stay here with Webb considering what we’re dealing with.”

“You’re not going to ‘go home, Amanda’-me this time. Anca and Corneliu trust me, I’ve been in this from the beginning, and I’m doing a darn good job.”

Amanda stood from the table, walked to the stairs, and went up on deck, her indignant anger apparent in her body language.

“You should trust her, Lee. She’s really good,” Clay said quietly after Amanda had gone.

Sighing, Lee ran a hand through his hair. “I know. I just worry.”

“She’s worth worrying about. You should tell her.”

“That she’s good at her job or that she’s worth worrying about?” Lee asked.

“Both.”

Leaving Lee to ponder that advice, Clay ducked into his bunkroom, where he could hear Lee go back up on deck and hop off the  _ Merrywood _ .

Shoving Clay’s comments to the back of his mind as best he could - for the moment at least - Lee set off to call Billy. Once the call was made, he felt better knowing that there would soon be additional agents on site. If things did go south, there’d be plenty of back up. Lee also brainstormed with his boss on how to get Anca and Corneliu’s daughters safely out of Bucharest.

“Webb’s mother is  _ what _ ?” Lee asked incredulously.

Billy’s chuckle rumbled through the phone line. “Yes, Scarecrow, even older society ladies can be operatives, you should know that. In fact, I was thinking Mrs. Webb and Emily Farnsworth could cook up a plan. They both have extensive experience behind the iron curtain and I think they’d make a good team.”

While not quite able to picture it, Lee trusted Emily with his life, he knew Amanda did too. And he trusted Billy’s judgement to put faith in Webb’s mother’s experience.

Billy continued, “I’ll get Francine to run the op with Porter Webb and Emily on the ground. Meanwhile, we’ve got more information on ‘Marco Borelli.’”

The man posing as the husband of a Romanian secret police officer was really a hapless dolt whose family was influential in the Romanian oligarchy. “Basically, his uncle got him the job. Poor guy just wants to live an average life where he can enjoy the luxuries of capitalism - like Levi’s and potato chips.”

xxxxxxx

“Amanda, you ready to go?” Clay called.

“Yep, just puttin’ on my shoes,” she replied from her room.

Clay approached and leaned against the door jamb, hands in the pockets of his khaki chinos, watching as Amanda tied her laces. He really hoped Lee would quit being such an overprotective oaf and let Amanda know how strongly he felt about her. Though he could hardly fault the older agent for keeping her safety in the forefront of his mind - Amanda was pretty special.

“C’mon, we’ve got a ropes course to conquer.”

The ropes course challenge was interspersed with games of logic and the couples competed as teams against each other. Using his reporter cover, Lee observed the group from a much closer vantage than he had last night’s rugby match. As expected, the athletic part of the course was a piece of cake for many of the participants, since most were world class athletes.

Amanda held her own on the ropes - she’d come a long way since her stint at Station One. Lee had admired the way she’d recognized her underdeveloped job skills and worked hard to hone them. She’d clearly been doing more than  _ Fitness with Dave _ and it showed in her arm strength as she adeptly hoisted herself up a swinging rope ladder.

While most teams were able to eventually solve each logic challenge, Amanda wiped the floor with the others, blazing through them in no time. She consulted Clay when necessary and he stayed out of her way as she puzzled through each one.

It was with the best of intentions that Lee had decided to follow the regatta so he could keep an eye on Amanda from afar. He knew all too well how a simple operation could turn bad when you least expected it. And - if he let himself admit it - he didn’t want to be the guy left at home while someone else got to sail into the sunset with Amanda.

Lee shook his head at how right Clay was and how obnoxiously wrong he’d been. Amanda  _ was _ special  _ and _ very good at her job. Her skills and experience could - and should - be trusted.

He sighed, remembering his dismissive and condescending behavior toward Amanda, which had been especially harsh in the first year or so that they’d known each other. She was so unlike any woman he’d ever known. She wasn’t like the agents he’d trained under or worked with, and she certainly wasn’t like any of the women he’d dated. Back then, Lee didn’t know what to make of her. On the surface, Amanda was easy to dismiss, but she had grit and she was smart, and she didn’t let him get away with the glib, smooth-talking lines that worked on most women - and men, for that matter.

Instead of appreciating all those things and reevaluating the narrow boxes into which he classified women, Lee had brushed her off as a sometimes-amusing but ultimately annoying burden. He’d derided her contributions and successes, and voiced resentment at her presence to anyone who would listen. Though firmly in the past now, he felt ashamed of his attitude and behavior.

Taking one last look at Amanda and Clay as they sat, heads bent together, working on a cryptogram, Lee stood to walk to the boat slips. As he passed the 'Borellis,' who’d been dropped from the evening’s competition after failing to complete even one logic challenge, he feigned a clumsy bump into 'Marco.’

“Ooof! I’m so sorry Mr. Borelli! Clumsy me! Good thing I’m not sailing on one of those fancy boats, eh? I’d be in the drink for sure!”

While making his apologies, Lee slipped a note into the man’s pocket that carried a message of reassurance regarding his defection.

'Marco' looked befuddled and 'Donatella' exclaimed, “ _ Necultură _ !” which was close enough to Russian that Lee understood she was calling him uncultured. He just hoped she didn’t go through 'Marco’s’ pockets before he got a chance to read the note.

Continuing on to the docks, Lee dropped off a note on Anca and Corneliu’s boat that simply said, ‘Friendly eyes are watching over you’ so they’d know they had protection. At the  _ Merrywood _ , he left an encrypted message for Clay and Amanda that contained the new intel on 'Marco,' the information that back up agents were on the way, and that Billy was actively working on a plan to rescue Anca and Corneliu’s daughters.

**End Chapter Five**


	6. I Want You To Want Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

A quick sail up the coast brought Clay and Amanda to the penultimate stop of the cruise itinerary. The afternoon’s schedule was ‘sailor’s choice’ of a number of sports and activities offered by the hosting yacht club. Clay made sure that Corneliu and Anca were signed up for the same activities as he and Amanda.

While Clay, Corneliu, and Anca participated in a fencing round robin - with the Borellis nowhere to be seen, thankfully - Amanda made contact with Lee. They sat together on a bench in the fencing studio where Lee pretended to interview Amanda for his newspaper.

“Billy’s got Francine, Porter Webb, and Emily Farnsworth on a plane headed for Bucharest,” he said, opening his reporter’s notebook and holding a pencil.

“Oh Lee, that’s  _ great _ ! Wait, Porter Webb? Did Billy know? Did  _ you _ know? And she’s with Emily?!”

Lee laughed with a full-dimpled smile as he admitted that he’d had no idea about the Webbs’ ‘family business.’ “Webb is full of surprises. Billy had the brilliant idea to pair her with Emily, they’re both very experienced. ”

Shifting on the bench so he could face Amanda more fully, Lee dropped his voice.

“Amanda, I…”

From the way he trailed off, Amanda knew Lee was trying to address the spat they’d had the previous day. Reaching out to give his hand a quick squeeze, she stood and cocked her head toward the doorway. “C’mon.”

Amanda gave a small nod to Clay as they walked to the door to let him know there was nothing to be concerned about. She led them to a small gazebo in the yacht club’s lush garden, where they could have more privacy, and gestured for him to sit next to her. As they sat, angled to face each other, Lee took both her hands in his and started the conversation again.

“Amanda… I’m sorry. You are skilled and experienced, and I shouldn’t have doubted anything about how you would handle yourself on this assignment.”

“Oh, Lee.” Amanda shook her head and ducked her gaze, feeling abashed at the praise and touched by his contrition. She’d always been impressed with the way once Lee recognized a mistake, he didn’t let pride impede a sincere apology.

“There’s just something about Webb that rubs me the wrong way.” Lee let his fingers intertwine with hers as he spoke. “I know he’s a stand up guy, but he’s young and inexperienced. And, well, I didn’t like the way he seemed to be coming on to you, like he’s God’s gift to women and always gets his way.”

“Remind you of someone?” Amanda teased, tightening her fingers around his to convey that she meant it lovingly.

“Well… I mean…” Lee couldn’t honestly refute the assessment and he let a small smile play on his lips, one dimple just starting to show.

“He could use a mentor, Clay would learn a lot from you.” Amanda liked the idea of Lee taking Clay under his wing the way Emily and Billy had done for him, and the way he had for her. She couldn’t help adding one last comment as she looked at Lee with sparkling eyes, a tiny smirk, and a tilt of her head. “He could teach you a thing or two as well.”

“Hang on now… like what?” Lee furrowed his brow.

He took the bait just as Amanda had predicted. Even with Lee’s apology, she wanted to get him back a bit for his ‘go home Amanda’ routine.

“Oh, I dunno… like who gets the bigger bed on an assignment.”

“Huh?”

Amanda explained the very logical reasoning for less experienced agents to get the better bed and thus, a better night’s sleep.

“So Webb set you up in luxury on the  _ Merrywood _ ?” Lee questioned with an edge creeping into his voice. 

“You’re starting to sound like a jealous person,” Amanda said.

“You know I feel responsible for getting you into this business in the first place. I’m just protective,” Lee began to defend himself.

“Uh-huh. Protective.” she nodded as she repeated the word back to him, her face neutral.

“Amanda, I’m proud of you... and, yes, I’m protective of you, and....” Lee wasn’t sure where he was going - other than into the hole he was digging for himself.

“And?” Amanda prompted, pushing him just a bit more, knowing they’d need some nudges if they were ever going to figure out what was - or could be - between them.

“And… Okay, maybe I’m jealous that I’m not the one on a week-long cruise with you aboard a luxury yacht.”

Lee looked at his hands, which were still holding Amanda’s, and he felt uncharacteristically nervous about how she would react to the truth of his feelings. He knew with bone-deep certainty that she’d never intentionally do or say anything to humiliate him or hurt his feelings. He just  _ so badly _ wanted her to feel as much for him as he did for her.

“I’d rather be on a week-long sail with you, too.”

“Really?” Lee’s head snapped up.

“Really,” Amanda nodded, a shy smile on her lips.

Lee smiled wide, his dimples making adorably deep craters in his cheeks, and at the sight, Amanda’s face reflected back the same elation. Suddenly the atmosphere between them went from smiley and warm to serious and hot.

Smiles morphed into earnest concentration as they leaned toward one another. Amanda licked her lips and glanced at Lee’s mouth while time seemed to slow down and narrow its focus. There was an absolute certainty between them about what they both wanted. This wasn’t a life and death situation where the fear of Sacker’s goons and the chill of the night had driven them together. Nor was this the excuse for a kiss in the guise of a ‘thank you’ from Penny McNeil after they’d solved the mystery of her father’s death. Their attraction in those situations was genuine to be sure, and the kisses would have been oh so good - if they hadn’t been interrupted. But this… this was all the more  _ everything _ because it was open and honest, considered and serious, and giddy and exciting all at once. Their lips met, soft but steady, and ready for more.

“You Americans have no morals!  _ Dezgustător _ !”

Lee and Amanda jumped apart and turned their heads to see 'Donatella' glaring at them from the entrance of the gazebo. Almost as quickly as she’d appeared, she was gone with a parting “Tsk!”

“What was that about?” Lee was thoroughly confused. He’d been so engrossed in Amanda and their kiss that he was barely able to comprehend what’d just happened.

“She keeps assuming that Clay and I are in an open relationship or that we’re swingers or something. Which is silly, really, since everything she’s seen has been perfectly innocent.” Muddleheaded from having their intense and private moment interrupted, Amanda launched into a classic overly-specific explanation. “First she thought Clay was too friendly with Anca and wanted me to ‘get my man back.’ I tried to explain that we were a ‘modern and open’ couple and it was no big deal--”

“ _ Modern _ and  _ open _ ?” Lee jumped in before she could continue.

“I meant that we trusted each other! Then the next night, Corneliu hugged Clay and whispered in his ear.”

“I think I’m starting to see 'Donatella’s’ point…” Lee said mostly to himself.

“He was telling Clay that they wanted to defect. But then, when 'Donatella' confronted Anca in the women’s room, I said that we were all very close friends.”

“Say no more, Amanda.” Lee held up his hands to indicate that he didn’t need any further explanations. “I get the picture. I’m surprised you didn’t accidentally tell her you and Webb were hosting a ‘key party’ on the  _ Merrywood _ .”

He shook his head in disbelief - actually, if anyone was going to accidentally get that kind of reputation without any of the benefits, it would be Amanda.

Amanda looked at her watch. “Oh, we’re late for the dinner buffet. We’d better go.”

As they stood, Lee placed his hands on Amanda’s waist and pulled her close. He wasn’t willing to let their private moment go quite yet. 

Coming face to face with Lee was exhilarating and Amanda put her hands on his chest as they stared into each other’s eyes.

“I guess we’ll have to pick up later where we left off,” she said, looking at his smile and then back to his captivating  hazel-green  eyes.

“You can count on it,” Lee whispered as he lowered his head to capture her lips in a kiss that felt as sweet as it did promising.

xxxxxxx

At dinner Lee, Amanda, Clay, Anca, and Corneliu huddled together.

“I think we have you to thank for the note - and the ‘friendly eyes,’ yes?” Anca asked Lee.

“Yeah. We’ve got agents tucked away all over the place here, and they’ll be shadowing you for the remainder of the trip.”

To distract from the anxiousness that hung in the air, Amanda told the group about how 'Donatella' had interrupted the conversation she and Lee were having. When she obtusely described it as a ‘private conversation’ Clay looked at Lee and then at Amanda; Anca looked at Amanda and then at Lee. Clay and Anca made eye contact with each other and then they both looked at Corneliu; all three were thinking, ‘private conversation? Yeah, right.’

Once Amanda got to the punchline, they all laughed and giggled, which earned them a stern stare from 'Donatella'.

“Oh great, more fodder for her personal rumor mill,” Clay quipped lightly.

xxxxxxx

Back on the  _ Merrywood _ for the night, Amanda thought about how Lee had admitted his jealousy of Clay getting to spend time with her. She knew he wasn’t adept or comfortable accessing - much less expressing - feelings of affection for others, so it meant all the more that he’d been honest with her. She smiled and absentmindedly ran her fingertips over her lips remembering their two kisses that afternoon with vivid clarity.

**End of Chapter Six**


	7. Secret Agent Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

Sailing into Sag Harbor at last, Clay and Amanda were confident about getting Anca, Corneliu, and 'Marco' safely into the hands of federal officers who would handle their defections.

“I’m just worried about their girls,” Amanda voiced the concern that was on both their minds. “I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until we hear that they’re safe.”

“Same here. But my mother is very good at her job and from what I understand, Emily Farnsworth is no one to trifle with either.”

After showering and changing into their costumes for the evening’s masquerade ball, Clay and Amanda walked to the yacht club’s banquet hall. On the way, they admired the other couples’ outfits - Jules and Heather showed up as Robin Hood and Maid Marian, Kyoji and Machiko made a stunning Anthony and Cleopatra, Bengt and Karin went for humor as Willy Wonka and an Oompa Loompa, and the Quintanas simply wore their tango outfits, 'Donatella' and 'Marco' appeared to be some version of Sonny and Cher, and Anca and Corneliu both looked amazing as Gomez and Morticia Addams.

Outfitted in a black bowler hat and a finely tailored three piece suit, Clay carried a bamboo-handled black umbrella. Amanda wore a belted black catsuit and black leather boots. It didn’t reveal much of her skin, but the jumpsuit was form fitting and featured a zipper that ran from the high mandarin collar at her neck to down below the belt at her waist.

As Lee arrived he confirmed that all the guests were present, but for a moment couldn’t quite figure out who’d come as Steed and Mrs. Peel from  _ The Avengers _ … until Amanda turned around and he just about choked on the martini he was sipping.

‘Mission accomplished,’ she thought as Lee approached.

“Bond; James Bond, I presume,” Amanda said to Lee, who was wearing a white tuxedo with a red carnation boutonnière, and of course, had a martini in hand.

“What are you wearing!?” He asked, not knowing if he should or shouldn’t be undoing her zipper with his eyes. Instead, he chose to focus on Clay, whom he assumed had picked out their characters for the evening.

“When Amanda told me her idea, I thought it was rather fitting. Fortunately, we were able to scare up these costumes on very short notice thanks to my Saville Row connections in London.”

“This was  _ your _ idea, Amanda?!” Lee was floored.

“I told you I used to have fantasies about spies…”

Lee gulped as he tried to play cool while Amanda stood there looking like  _ that _ . Throwing caution to the wind, he said, “Had you come with me tonight, you could’ve been Pussy Galore in a white bikini and a dive knife coming out of the ocean to help me battle Dr. No.”

Clay rolled his eyes. He couldn’t believe how often people got this wrong. “Pussy Galore was in ‘Goldfinger.’ Honey Ryder was in ‘Dr. No.’ Get your spy movies straight, Stetson,” he said dryly.

“You two want drinks?” Lee asked, changing the subject and leading them to the bar

The three American intelligence agents who were dressed as fictional British intelligence agents took up seats in the back corner of the bar, where they could keep a close eye on the goings-on, including the Agency operatives who were posing as wait-staff. Amanda chose champagne and Clay ordered a scotch, neat.

While they waited for their drinks, Lee and Amanda talked quietly. Every now and then, Lee leaned in to whisper in Amanda’s ear. As Clay sat there, he mused that with all the misunderstandings about he and Amanda being swingers, this little scene might really seal the deal on the theory.

“You look  _ incredible _ ,” Lee said softly, brushing his nose against Amanda’s ear.

She shivered at the thrill of hearing his voice, soft and low in her ear while feeling his breath, hot and moist on her sensitive skin.

Leaning back and locking eyes with her, Lee grasped the toothpick from his martini and slowly brought it to his mouth intending to eat one of the olives. Before he could, Amanda reached for his wrist and drew it toward her own mouth so she could take in not just one, but both olives. She closed her lips around the toothpick and slowly slid it out of her mouth, with her hand still wrapped around Lee’s wrist.

Lee had known from the first day they’d met that Amanda was beautiful; he loved when she was playful and flirty with him; and he already thought she was sexy as hell - but this was something else entirely, and all he could manage was an unsteady breath as he watched her mouth. “Jesus, Amanda…”

“Ahem.” Clay really hated to interrupt. “I’d suggest you two get a room - which you  _ definitely  _ should - but right now… Mr. Bond, Mrs. Peel... we’re needed.”

Lee and Amanda looked up in time to see 'Donatella' take 'Marco' by the suede fringe of his Sonny Bono vest and shake him violently.

Lee, Clay, and Amanda sprinted across the room just as the nearest waiter/agent leaped into action, knocking 'Donatella' back and shoving poor 'Marco' ungracefully to the side for safety.

'Donatella' pulled a Makarov pistol from the pocket of her bell-bottomed pants and waved it around wildly. She was screaming in Romanian at 'Marco,' whipping her head around yelling for Anca and Corneliu, and jabbing the gun toward the waiter/undercover agent. 'Donatella' didn’t seem to know who to focus on.

Her hysteria made it laughably easy for Clay to just walk up behind her and jab the end of his umbrella in her back as if it were a gun, never needing to draw his service weapon at all. “It’s over. Don’t move,” he said, while Lee handcuffed her.

Other than Anca and Corneliu, the costumed yachters looked on, stunned at the turn of events. Billy Melrose walked in just then and used his booming voice to calm the crowd. “It’s alright folks! Nothing to worry about, just a minor scuffle. Please enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Lee handed 'Donatella' off to one of the waiting agents, who shuffled her out the door.

'Marco' stumbled forward, gushing his appreciation. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You have saved my life!”

“You’re going to be just fine,” Amanda said, offering a comforting hand on his back as she led him to another agent. “Agent Martinez will take care of you now. Welcome to America.”

Billy joined Amanda, Lee, Clay , Anca, and Corneliu as they spoke quietly in the aftermath of the brief but intense confusion.

“Webb, your mother’s a genius,” Billy said.

“So she’s been telling me since I was born.”

Billy chuckled and then quickly got to the point. “Corneliu and Anca, your daughters are safe in Sarajevo with Clay’s mother and another agent. They’re eating and playing and making the general mess that little ones do when they’re safe and happy.”

Anca practically collapsed into Corneliu’s arms with relief. “We can’t thank you all enough,” Corneilu spoke for the couple.

“You can thank us by keeping in touch and sending lots of pictures of your little girls,” Amanda said.

**End of Chapter Seven**


	8. Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

The Agency had taken over several rooms in the yacht club’s main building to use as temporary debriefing locations. Corneliu and Anca were escorted by Billy into one of the rooms where they could call Sarajevo to hear their daughters’ voices before they began their defection intake process.

Clay, Lee, and Amanda gave their statements separately and succinctly. After his interview, Lee went up to the room he’d booked at the yacht club and swapped his James Bond suit for a pair of jeans, a polo shirt, and a sweater. Back at the bar, the trio ate the dinners they’d managed to grab from the caterers as they were cleaning up from the evening’s event.

“Why don’t we swap accommodations? You two stay on the  _ Merrywood _ and I’ll stay in Lee’s room here at the club,” Clay suggested as he finished up his meal and placed his napkin on the bar. “Actually, why don’t you take the  _ Merrywood _ back to D.C.?”

Neither Lee nor Amanda dared to look at each other. It wasn’t that they didn’t  _ very much _ want to spend time alone, but they were suddenly faced with the implications of being very much alone on the  _ Merrywood _ for nearly a week.

“Umm, Amanda?” Lee punted.

“Oh gosh, Clay, that’s awfully nice of you,” Amanda stalled.

“Seriously you two?! Lee, give me the keys to your car.” Clay held out his hand.

“My car?” Lee sounded worried.

“If I can trust you to get the  _ Merrywood _ back to D.C. in one piece, you can trust me to do the same with your Corvette. Give me your keys.”

Lee laughed and shook his head as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “You’d better take good care of her.”

xxxxxxx

While Lee grabbed his things from his room, Clay and Amanda walked back to the  _ Merrywood _ so that Clay could change and pack up. Swinging his umbrella with one hand, he hooked his other arm through Amanda’s. “It has been a real pleasure working with you.”

“Aw, thanks. You too, Clay. You really should think about coming over to the Agency, your mom would understand eventually… maybe when you give her grandkids,” she teased.

“I’ll take that under advisement. In the meantime, when we’re both back in D.C., I’d love to take your boys out sailing.”

xxxxxxx

Out of his John Steed suit and back in khakis and a worn-in Oxford button down shirt, Clay was packed and ready to go when Lee arrived with his duffle. On the dock, Amanda gave Clay a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, and the two men shook hands. 

“I’ll give you a call, Clay. We’ll hit the firing range.”

“Or the stables. I’ll teach you how to ride ‘English’.”

“Not a chance.” Lee shook his head, there was no way he was giving up his western saddle.

Once Clay disappeared onto the darkened pathway at the end of the dock, Lee and Amanda stepped onto the  _ Merrywood _ .

“I’ll show you to your room,” Amanda said, the rasp in her voice betraying the nervousness she felt as she found herself on the threshold of being alone with Lee for a week.

Lee followed her below deck and to the bunk room that had been Clay’s.

“Cosy,” he said, stepping into the small room. “This part of your new ‘senior agent gets the smaller bed’ policy?”

“Well, you know… I’m already unpacked and settled in the main bedroom.” Amanda answered with the logical truth. She turned to leave and made it a few steps when she suddenly felt quite daring. “Play your cards right and you might make it into the big bed eventually.”

With her wearing that Mrs. Peel black leather catsuit and the way she’d devoured those olives at the bar earlier, it was more than Lee could take. He dropped his bag onto the bed and swiftly took the two steps needed to close the gap between them. Wrapping one arm around her sexy waist and pulling her close, Lee’s other hand rose to clutch the back of Amanda’s neck and bring her crashing to him in a searing kiss.

Amanda’s squeak of surprise almost immediately gave way to murmurs and moans of pleasure as they stood kissing in the cabin of the  _ Merrywood _ . Her lips were slightly chapped from the sea and sun and the roughened skin provided all the more tantalizing friction against his.

“This outfit of yours…” Lee said breathily in Amanda’s ear as he ran his hands around her waist and up her back, feeling the heat of her body through the leather.

Amanda was mighty glad she'd had the idea for the costume. It was having exactly the effect she’d hoped it would: to drive Lee wild. And the way his hands felt on her body was driving  _ her  _ wild. 

“God you look sexy, Amanda. But you have to be getting hot in this thing.” He really had the most innocent of intentions when he used the word ‘hot’ - at least initially.

“Oh, I’m getting hot alright,” Amanda retorted saucily, starting to drag the zipper downwards from the top of her neck.

Covering her hand in his, Lee offered his assistance. “Here, let me help you with that.”

Stopping the zipper’s progress just below her collar bones, Lee brushed her hair aside, folded open the collar, and pressed his lips to her exposed skin. Amanda’s head rolled to the side, offering up her neck to his touch - his taste - as he nipped and sucked and kissed. The most delicious tingling sensations were radiating throughout her body from where he was applying just the right amount of nibbling pressure.

As he held her close Lee relished the way Amanda’s arms wrapped tightly around him - one hand on his back seemingly unable to pull him close enough and the other hand raised to the nape of his neck. Her fingers combed through his soft hair and she thrilled at the way Lee shuddered when she lightly scraped her nails on his scalp.

Lee loved the almost desperate grip she had on. It was  _ exactly  _ how he felt. Desperate to be close to her, desperate to physically demonstrate how much he cared, desperate to feel the same from her. Desperate to know that the emotional closeness they shared could be even better when played out physically.

Kissing his way back to her lips Lee opened his mouth to run his tongue across her upper lip. Their tongues explored each other’s mouths tentatively at first - much the way they had inched their way to this point in their relationship. To her, Lee tasted both familiar and thrillingly new in a way Amanda very gladly didn’t think she’d ever get over.

Inching her zipper down just a bit more - low enough to match the depths of the necklines on some of the gowns she’d worn to formal events - Lee slipped his fingers under the edge of the undone zipper to revel in the softness of her skin and the tempting swells at the top of her breasts.

Amanda gasped and arched her back, instinctually wanting more contact. The primal movement spurred Lee to treat her to a series of frenzied kisses and clutches. Eventually they broke apart, breathing heavily and leaning their foreheads together.

“Lee…”

“Amanda…”

They spoke at the same time.

“Go ahead…”

“Go on…”

They laughed through their still-belaboured breaths.

“Lee, this is...” Amanda began. There just weren’t words adequate enough to describe how she felt. How he was making her feel. How she  _ knew _ she was making him feel.

“Yes. Yes it is.” Lee framed her face with his hands and caressed her cheeks with his thumbs as he looked in her eyes.

“But…” Amanda continued.

Lee was nodding his head even as she spoke. “I agree…”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

They both nodded in understanding and in appreciation of knowing they were on the same page. There would be plenty of time to explore this new physical side of their relationship, there was no need to hurry.

“I’m just going to… “ Amanda took a step back, using the door jamb to steady herself as she gestured toward the bathroom behind her, “get ready for bed. My bed. Alone.”

Lee smiled warmly. “Go ahead, I’ll take a turn after you.”

“Lee…”

“Yeah?”

They stepped toward one another and shared a now-familiar warm and sensual kiss.

“Good night.”

“ _ Good night _ , indeed,” Lee said.

xxxxxxx

In their separate beds on the  _ Merrywood _ \- Lee in the bunkroom and Amanda in the main bedroom - their bodies took time to calm down from the sensuality and desire they’d ramped-up in each other.

Amanda was glad she’d pushed Lee into admitting his jealousy the previous day. Lee was glad he had been honest with Amanda about the envy he’d felt. They were both glad that Amanda had worn that amazing Mrs. Peel outfit.

A kind of comforting anticipation settled their minds, so that when sleep eventually overtook them, it was deep and restful, and their dreams were full of the promise of love.

**End of Chapter Eight**


	9. For Your Eyes Only

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

Lee was up and dressed early - before Clay had left with his car - so he could drive to a nearby grocery store and stock up for the trip home. He’d left a note for Amanda on the galley table: “Getting provisions. Be back soon. XOXO Lee”

He’d debated writing ‘Love, Lee.’ It wasn’t that he didn’t love Amanda, he did, but something made him hesitate. He quickly realized that he wanted to get to say the word to her before she read it in a note.

“Thanks, Clay - for offering the  _ Merrywood _ ,” Lee said, handing the car keys back.

“My pleasure, Lee. Or rather -  _ your _ pleasure, I suspect.”

Lee gave a small laugh - not really minding the innuendo. He’d come to like - and respect - the younger operative.

xxxxxxx

Amanda woke up early but not hearing Lee moving about yet, she indulged in a little more sleep. She wasn’t ready to give up the cozy bed covers nor the sweet memories and half-dreams of being with Lee.

When she heard noise in the galley and smelled the invigorating aroma of fresh coffee, Amanda got up and peeked out. Lee was pouring cups for each of them and setting out toast and fruit.

“Did you like how I accused you of not knowing how to cook when we took the  _ Mata Hari II _ back to her slip, just so you’d have to prove me wrong?” she said, alerting him to her presence.

Turning around, Lee smiled. “I knew that was a con job!”

“Did not.”

Before he could defend himself, they both heard the loud growl from Amanda’s stomach and laughed.

“You’d better shower and get dressed so we can eat before your stomach wakes up the whole harbor.”

xxxxxxx

Amanda made quick work of her morning preparations so she wouldn’t have time to let her thoughts linger and cultivate the slight nervousness she had about how things would be between her and Lee after last night.

The concern was unnecessary. As soon as she sat down on the bench seat at the small table, Lee put her coffee down, slid in next to her, and gave her a firm but sweet kiss on the lips.

“Morning.”

He’d decided there was no point in being shy. The whole situation was positively a dream come true and Lee wasn’t about to let it turn into anything other than extraordinarily wonderful that might threaten to erect barriers between them. He was hoping that there would soon be absolutely  _ nothing _ between them.

After eating and cleaning up from breakfast in companionable silence - well, as silent as Amanda usually was, which really wasn’t all that silent, they readied the  _ Merrywood _ for the day’s sail. The itinerary back to D.C. would take them to all the same yacht clubs that Clay and Amanda had visited on the way up. Being the more experienced sailor - particularly on the  _ Merrywood _ \- Amanda took charge and Lee served as crew.

Throughout the day, as he worked the lines and she captained, Lee and Amanda treated themselves - and each other - to familiar touches and light kisses. As the hours wore on and they drew nearer to their destination for the night, brief hand squeezes and pecks weren’t enough and they turned into long hugs and lingering kisses.

Once the boat was secured, Lee and Amanda washed up and changed into nicer outfits - making the evening feel kind of like a date. Amanda chose a blue and white striped boat-neck sweater and a pair of capris, while Lee donned khakis and a polo with a deep blue v-neck sweater.

As always, Lee was solicitous as he helped Amanda down from the  _ Merrywood _ and they took a walk in the fresh late-afternoon air before dinner. He started with his hand at the small of her back - their usual posture when walking together. While the pose was comfortable and familiar, it was no longer enough. Lee took Amanda’s hand and intertwined their fingers. She looked at him and they shared a smile.

They’d held hands before, but this lacing of digits was new. A part of their hearts and minds enjoyed simply being in each other’s company, while more primal recesses of their brains focused on how each was using their laced-together fingers to telegraph their attraction. Lee’s thumb swept over the back of her knuckles and Amanda swirled her thumb over the soft palm of his hand.

Finding themselves back in ‘their’ gazebo, Amanda turned to embrace Lee and treat him to a long and deep kiss - unlike either of the ones they’d had in the same location a couple of days ago.

“Deja vu,” Lee said.

“Except for the part where we’re interrupted by an uptight Romanian secret police agent.”

Lee chuckled, “Yeah. She didn’t have the best timing.”

“Things seem to have worked out okay.” Amanda ticed her head to the side, indicating the humor in the facts.

“Yes. They. Have.” Lee punctuated each word with a kiss: the first on her forehead, the second on the tip of her nose, and the third squarely on her lips. “Amanda, I really am sorry that tailed you and Clay. I was being a jealous jerk.”

“Well… who could blame you, really?” Amanda teased with mock-modesty.

Lee laughed, enjoying their playful banter. “Who wouldn’t have wanted to know you when you were a 19 year old lifeguard? Those endlessly long legs of yours crossing and uncrossing during the heat of the day as you sat on top of the lifeguard tower...”

He trailed his Index fingers from the tops of her shoulders, down and together over her chest, sketching the outline of a bathing suit. As his fingers trailed to meet in the center, Amanda felt a thrill in the pit of her stomach, and somewhere lower down, too. His touch was exciting and that he would verbalize such a sexy and vivid image of her was exhilarating.

Pretending to solve a complex formula in her head, she replied, “Well, let’s see… when I was 19, you’d have been… 20. Now, I don’t know if that would’ve made for a very satisfying or long lasting meeting between us back then. I imagine we’ve both learned a trick or two over the years.”

Amanda slid her hands down Lee’s back, over his waist, and to his shapely rear end, where she gave the muscles there a suggestive squeeze. He gulped in surprise and at the sudden rush of blood from his brain southward. Lee couldn’t believe how Amanda could continue to surprise him after all this time. She’d come a long way since going undercover as a couple had upset her sense of propriety, but he hadn’t realized that she possessed this kind of confidence - that of a woman who clearly knew herself, knew what she wanted, and wasn’t afraid to talk about it.

“I can’t wait to try out that theory of yours.”

“Oh, it’s more than a theory,” she teased, licking her lips and leaning in to kiss him with a throaty moan.

Their kisses deepened and seemed to stretch on for luxurious minutes, each one stoking the flames of their mutual desire hotter and hotter… at least until it started to get dark. Lee felt the chill of the evening breeze rustle his hair and as much as he regretted it, they needed to get going.

“We should get back and cook dinner.”

“And I’d like to call the boys at Joe’s parents’ house.”

“Okay, I’ll meet you back at the boat.”

They parted with a kiss that held a promise for more to come later…

xxxxxxx

Amanda could smell the delicious aroma of their dinner as she approached the  _ Merrywood _ , but she couldn’t quite identify it.

“What’s on the menu, Julia Child?”

Lee looked up from having just set down their dinner plates on the small table on deck. “Perfect timing. It’s my famous frittata.. mushrooms, spinach,  a Roma tomato for its sweet juiciness,  just a little cheese mixed in and the rest sprinkled on top for a toasty crust; fresh  basil and parsley, and a little paprika, ground mustard, salt, and pepper. I left out the usual garlic.”

“Wow,” Amanda said, giving him a kiss. “I’m impressed. Smells delicious.”

“Sit,” Lee instructed. “I’ll get the salad and wine.”

Dinner proved to taste as good as it smelled, though it took them far longer to eat than it should have, between Amanda filling Lee in on Phillip and Jamie’s adventures with their cousins, and the way Lee kept getting lost in her eyes and smile.

Finally finished, Lee scurried to clear the dishes and bring up dessert - chocolate covered strawberries - and to put some music on the boat’s sound system. Offering his hand, Lee said, “I didn’t get a chance to dance with you at the masquerade ball.”

Amanda practically lept into his arms and they began swaying to the sounds of Bobby Darin.

~ Somewhere, beyond the sea   
Somewhere waiting for me   
My lover stands on golden sands   
And watches the ships that go sailing~

They fell easily into an informal dance pose, his right arm snug around her waist, with her left arm holding him close. Lee’s left hand held her right and their fingers intertwined.

“This is much better. Fewer prying eyes,” Amanda commented.

Lee hummed his agreement and they continued to dance - quiet and close. Soon their eyes closed in sweet contentment and she rested her head on his shoulder while he nuzzled his nose in her hair, reveling in her familiar smell and enthralling presence.

As the songs switched from one to the next, their bodies melded further together. Starting with a kiss on his neck, Amanda worked her way up toward his ear. The time for simply dancing had run its course. Lee pulled her closer and slid his hand down her back to the edge of her sweater, and then back up under it to feel her skin.

He caressed the smoothness with his thumb before being unable to resist his craving to feel more of her. Fingers splayed out, his hand ran upwards farther and farther, exposing her back to the sea breeze. Feeling the caresses of his warm and tantalizing touch on her heated skin at the same time the chill of the ocean air hit her back was an intoxicating crashing of of senses. 

No longer satisfied with kissing his neck and nibbling on his ear, Amanda leaned back to capture Lee’s lips with hers. The sweet kiss turned lustful as their tongues explored each others’ mouths and their moans expressed their feelings, which lay somewhere between satisfied and ‘this is never going to be enough.’

They each experienced a thrill of discovery as Lee’s hand curved around the side of her ribs and inched higher to caress the side of her breast. His discovery was finding out that she wasn’t wearing a bra. Hers was the feel of his fingertips deftly brushing her breast. From there, things began to outpace the appropriateness of being out on the deck of the  _ Merrywood _ for anyone to see.

“Amanda…”

“We should take this downstairs.”

“Yeah.”

The chocolate covered strawberries and the rest of their wine was abandoned and forgotten as they secured the cabin for the night and then sat close together on the small loveseat adjacent to the galley.

There wasn’t much room for two, which suited them both just fine and Amanda situated herself practically in Lee’s lap. Within moments, they had recaptured their intimacy. Both of Lee’s hands were now holding onto Amanda - his thumbs teasing at the side of her breasts - while they continued to kiss with abandon. Amanda ran her hands over his chest - she’d touched him there many times over the years, smoothing down a lapel, hugging him after a harrowing near miss, fixing his tie… but this time it was with the sole purpose of pleasure. And perhaps at another moment - one that wasn’t quite so distracting - she would’ve been able to recall all the times she’d seen his bare chest. One particular image flashed through her mind now - after they’d jumped to safety at the castle by the lake in Austria. He had stood next to her, his chest exposed and wet shirt open and clinging to his arms and shoulders. Amanda knew he was well toned and now, being able to feel the hard planes of his chest under the soft material of his sweater made her impatient.

She grabbed the bottom of the garment and pulled it up. Lee had to untangle his hands from under her sweater to put his arms up for the maneuver. Once it was over his head, Lee immediately repeated the action on first his polo shirt, then on her sweater.

They locked eyes and were still and quiet for a few beats as they sat in wonderment at how they were bared before one another as they’d never been before. Amanda would have sworn she’d never seen him look so sexy with his eyes darkened with desire and his hair - so often perfectly styled - sticking up in places and flopping flatly in others. Lee could barely believe that they were in this state of undress. His spinning head threatened to take his body down with him if he didn’t find a way to ground himself.

Hugging her close, Lee clung to Amanda and took in deep breaths as he savored the feel of their bare chests touching. He could feel her breasts pressing against him, her nipples hardening at the contact. Shifting positions on the tiny couch, Amanda straddled his lap and framed her hands around his face to pull him in for the start of many, many long, deliberate, and exploratory kisses.

Lee’s left hand rose to cup her breast and she leaned into his touch, encouraging him to increase the pressure. Her nipple peaked even harder as he squeezed her breast and pinched at the taut skin there. Their tongues met and swirled and their kisses were punctuated with nips and licks until their breathing was coming in gasps. Amanda squeezed his well-defined biceps and thrilled at the thought of him using those muscles to pleasure her.

Moving one hand to the back of her neck, Lee kissed her just below her ear, his day-and-a-half of stubble scratching in the most deliciously stimulating way and eliciting a particularly throaty moan from Amanda. His lips continued to suck and nip along her collarbone and downward to kiss a line between her breasts. Having picked up on her reaction to his stubble on her skin, Lee ran his cheek over a nipple and then rested it on the side of her breast before pursing his lips together with the nipple between them.

Amanda threaded her fingers through hair and bent her head to hold him close. He smelled like the ocean and shampoo, and just... Lee.   
  
“That feels  _ great _ ,” she whispered into his hair.

Lee squeezed her tight, elated to be giving her such pleasure and loving the way her nails were scraping over his scalp and then down to back in long strokes. He wanted to touch her everywhere - with his hands, with his body, with his mouth; under him, over him...

Their bodies may have wanted nothing more than to keep exploring and discovering each others’ desires, but they both knew this wasn’t going to be the night that pursued the fullness of their carnal needs. The surety of their deep and abiding love afforded them the time to enjoy each step they took toward that final destiny. Eventually, their ministrations slowed and their kisses wound down, until they were again simply hugging and holding on.

“Are you cold?” Lee asked when he felt Amanda shiver.

“I think it’s from cooling down after being so warm.”

He reached down to retrieve her sweater, which had been unceremoniously deposited on the floor. Helping her put it back on, Lee swept his hands over her breasts and kissed her sweetly once it was over her head. They rearranged themselves on the loveseat and spent more than a couple of hours simply talking, holding hands, and being together.

**End of Chapter Nine**


	10. I Believe In Miracles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

The next morning, after having stayed up late into the night - and the early morning hours - Lee and Amanda agreed to motor to their next stop rather than sail.

“I know you love sailing, Amanda. But the attention it takes is really a hindrance to my ability to pay proper attention to you.”

Amanda laughed as he caught her arm, turned her around and planted a kiss on her lips to demonstrate the perks of not needing to monitor and work the sails and lines.

They took turns at the wheel throughout the day and Lee loved the easy way they could be together. He stood behind Amanda, rubbing her shoulders and kissing her neck - now and then sneaking a hand under her top to caress her breast and run his palm over her stomach, dipping his fingers just barely under the waist of her jeans.

After mooring the  _ Merrywood _ in her guest slip, Amanda and Lee walked to one of the local restaurants for dinner. They polished off a fresh seafood paella and walked hand in hand across the grounds of the yacht club, finding themselves at the ropes course that had hosted the couples’ challenge a few days ago.

They stood at the bottom of a set of rope ladders, each grasping the ropes of one of them. Devilish smiles sparkled between Lee and Amanda until he spoke.

“I don’t think I could ever beat you at logic puzzles, but I’d place a bet that I can beat you to the top of the rope ladders.”

“Your legs are much longer than mine - it’d hardly be a fair race.”

Lee pretended to ponder how to handicap their wager. “Hmmmm... Go!”

Leaping into action, they ascended the swinging ladders.

“You had a head start!” Amanda groused when she reached the top well behind Lee.

“Don’t worry, I won’t make you pay up,” Lee said as he started to climb back down.

Amanda looked down at him and shrugged nonchalantly while she descended her ladder. “Too bad. Could’ve been fun to see what you wanted as payment…”

At the bottom of their respective rope ladders, they each stood with one foot on the ground and swung their ropes together and apart as they teased and flirted.

“In that case… maybe I will make you pay. I’ll keep you posted.”

“We’ve already waited two-and-a-half years getting to this point, why wait?”

Lee grabbed one of the rungs of her rope ladder and held them together as he spoke. “I think I needed that time to figure a few things out about myself. To grow up a bit,” he said, suddenly giving their light banter a serious undertone.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Really? You’ve always been far more mature and ‘together’ than me.” Lee was genuinely surprised.

Amanda was glad she’d already had part of this conversation earlier in the week with Clay. It’d helped her organize her self-reflection into words, which she was happy to share with Lee.

“I was awfully young when Joe and I got married. I needed to find my footing - find myself - after the divorce. Working for the Agency was part of that, along with just plain old time…”

“Ahhh,” Lee said, still holding her rope ladder and leaning in close. “Plus, the journey’s really half the fun - the buildup of sexual tension’s the best part, don’t you think?” Lee swung away and back in again as if to kiss her, but backed off again just as he felt the heat of her lips.

“Yeah,” she whispered as their gazes locked. This time, Amanda leaned forward and held their rope ladders together. Breathing through parted lips, the delicious tension became tangible in the space between them. 

They stepped away from the rope ladders to find more solid footing. Eyes still locked on each other, she could practically hear her heart pounding with anticipation, which she both wanted to put an end to and wanted to draw out as long as possible.

Finally, Lee couldn’t let another second pass without kissing her. It was a miracle of restraint that the kiss was soft and tentative, almost shy - as if they hadn’t already been making out almost non-stop all day. Neither was willing to let the tension fully dissipate; there was more to be built up before release. Their fingers intertwined and their hands stood in for their bodies as they channeled the erotic energy between them into the way their fingers played and teased while their lips just barely play off one another.

“I think you’ve graduated to the big bed….” Amanda whispered against Lee’s lips before pivoting and taking his hand.

Amanda led the way back to the boat where they made quick work of locking up for the night. Once the final tasks were done, Amanda took Lee’s hand again and walked  him to the bedroom. Toeing off her shoes, Amanda lay down on the bed and held her hand out for Lee to join her.

With no hesitation, Lee shucked off his shoes and lay alongside her as she rolled to face him. They finally let the dam break into a hot and fast flurry of kisses. The sexual tension was broken, but the sexual energy between them was  ramping up.

Amanda had a flash of a thought about how with Lee being left handed, he’d situated himself perfectly to be able to undo the buttons on her blouse, which he’d begun to work on. Sensing her brief distraction, Lee backed away and rested his hand on her belly.

“You okay? Is this okay?” The last thing he wanted to do was to push her into anything she wasn’t comfortable with. This was too important. She was too important.

“Oh yes, I’m more than okay. I just had a thought about how you’re left handed, so you naturally lay down to my left. And how perfectly that works out for me.” She took his hand and put it back on one of the buttons of her top.

“Seems to be to my advantage as well,” Lee observed as he finished the task, at which point he discovered that she was wearing a front-clasp bra. “Hmmm, this also appears to be to my advantage,” he said as he undid it.

“Did you wear this on purpose?” Lee teased while moving the material of her bra out of the way so he could caress her breasts.

“No, but I think we’re both coming out on top on that one.”

“So to speak,” Lee said as he propped himself up on his right elbow and bent to kiss her nipple and squeeze the other breast firmly in the palm of his hand.

The feel of her silky skin  beneath his hands was intoxicating and he so badly wanted to feel more of it under his touch. He skimmed one of his hands down past her belly button to undo the top of her jeans.

Kissing him feverishly, Amanda felt her head spinning with every touch of his hands on the uncharted parts of her body. Sliding the zipper of her jeans down as far as he could reach, Lee decided to make things a bit easier. Kneeling on the bed, he made his way to her feet and grabbed the hems of her pants so he could slide them off her legs. With that, Amanda was left in just her underwear and he had to take a moment, hands resting on her calves, to soak in her beauty. Amanda blushed but didn’t demure. She was incredibly happy and grateful to be the subject of his admiring gaze.

Lee pulled off his shirt and shed his pants to match her state of undress and began to slide his hands up and up her legs, as he scooted next to her again. As his hand landed over her mound, he could feel her dampness through her underwear. Sucking in a quick breath of appreciation and awe, he said, “Amanda, you are so beautiful.”

Her smile warmed him like a million suns, and as he dove in for a kiss Lee slid a finger under the edge of panties to begin exploring her folds.

Amanda was positive that she’d never experienced anything like it. She was so wet, so wanting - so _ wanton _ . The trust she felt with Lee was allowing her to let go; not just allowing, but insisting. Rolling closer, Amanda hiked her right leg over his hip to open herself up even more to him. She kissed him deeper and with heady abandon.

Lee moaned at the wonder of her soft, wet center. He shifted to move his hand beneath the waistband of her underwear to more effectively reach her. Spreading her moisture around, Lee slicked his fingers over her folds and slipped his middle finger into her core.

As his agile finger reached and retreated, and reached into her again and again, he pressed the heel of his hand on her sensitive mound. Amanda’s breathy pants became shorter and harder, her kisses sloppier and more desperate.

“Don’t stop,” she gasped into his mouth.

Wanting it to be even better for her, Lee moved his mouth to her chest and attacked one of her nipples with vigor. As he sucked hard at her breast - flicking the taut peak lusciously under his tongue and between his teeth - he kept up the pace with his hand.

In her erotic stupor, Amanda held fast to his head as she let her mind go blank and body completely take over. Reaching the top of the spiral that had been winding up, she huffed breath after breath as the waves took her over.

Slowing the rhythm of his hand as her inner muscles stopped spasming and began to relax, Lee withdrew his finger from her core and let his fingers trail upwards. Gracing her with a squeeze at each breast, he ran his fingers lovingly through her hair.

Amanda smiled but didn’t open her eyes. “That was a pretty neat trick. Think you could have pulled that off at 20?”

Lee laughed warmly at the reference to their conversation about an imagined - and unsatisfying - meeting when they were young. “Not a chance.”

Sprinkling sweet kisses over her face, Lee settled down next to her, tucking his face into Amanda’s neck and inhaling her scent - a little sweaty, very sexy, and all Amanda. Lee had always thought himself to be  a considerate and generous lover. He made a habit of asking the women he went to bed with about their pleasure, making sure the needs they expressed were met. Other guys he knew either didn’t care or didn’t understand what benefits could be reaped from pleasing a woman. But in the past, the goal had been to heighten his own pleasure. With Amanda, Lee discovered that it was so much more about making her feel good.  He almost didn’t care what came next for him. This was heaven on its own.

Waking up from dozing, Amanda realized that it was the middle of the night. She shivered and reached to cover them both with the blankets before settling back down and cuddling against Lee in complete satisfaction.

**End of Chapter Ten**


	11. Come Fly With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

The hazy morning sunlight woke her up first. The next thing Amanda was aware of was Lee’s erection pressing on her from behind as he held her close. She smiled to herself - it’d been a very long time since she’d awoken to something like that.

Turning over, she kissed Lee on the lips and as he stirred and began to kiss back in earnest, she snaked a hand between them. His boxers did almost nothing to restrain his erection as Amanda slipped her hand down and through the open fly to grasp his hardness.

Breaking their kiss, Lee tried to catch his breath and fathom how this dream was coming true. Deciding he didn’t really care if he died from a lack of oxygen nor what lucky stars had brought them to this point, Lee reached over to grasp the back of Amanda’s neck to bring her close again.

As she set a steady stroke on his shaft, their tongues matched the pace, which was only broken when Amanda moved to pull his boxers off. Shoving back the covers, she tugged at his waistband and Lee lifted his hips to let her remove his underwear. As he had done earlier, Amanda took a long moment to admire Lee’s long, lean body that was stretched out before her. Her eyes made their way up his legs, over his erection, and past his toned abs and chest, which was rising and falling rapidly. At last, she met his gaze and with a sly smile that also contained a hint of shyness, Amanda crawled up the bed to rest between his legs.

She skimmed her hands up his inner thighs before grasping his hardness with one hand and grabbing his hip with the other. Glancing up from her new vantage point, she saw that Lee now had his eyes closed and his head pitched to one side.

As she lavished his erection with her mouth and tongue, Lee moaned her name and  suppressed the urge to reach down and push her head against him. Instead, he fisted handfuls of the sheets and pressed his head back into the pillow to focus on the sweet tension she was building in him.

Paying close attention to his verbal cues, Amanda varied her speed and grip on his shaft. Releasing his hip, she used that hand to gently cup and caress him lower down, which garnered an encouraging ‘hmmmmugggh’ from Lee. She increased her grip as she took as much of him into her mouth as possible, and kept her tongue circling and sliding over and over. Amanda experimented with combinations of lips, teeth, and tongue on him, and used her fingers to stroke and grab him more forcefully.

In reaction, Lee whispered, “Not so hard.”

Amanda mumbled acknowledgement and briefly backed off before returning with a lighter touch. Opening up her eyes to get another view of him, she could see Lee biting his lower lip and furrowing his brow in concentration.

It didn’t take long before he spoke again. “Yeah, just like that,” he panted.

As he finished speaking, Amanda hummed an affirmative response to signal that she knew what he was warning her of and that she wasn’t going anywhere.

In moments, Lee was coming and vocalizing his release with soft grunts that matched the tempo of his pulsing erection. As he finished, Amanda kept her mouth around him until he was completely spent. Finally releasing him, she rolled to the side, swallowed, and felt rather accomplished.

Lee was still mentally reeling as a flood of dopamine coursed through his body to provide the relaxing pleasure of afterglow. He draped an arm over his eyes and reveled in it. He was loath to move but looked up when he felt Amanda moving across the bed to grab a slightly damp towel, which she used to clean him up. Once finished, she tossed the towel onto the nightstand and lifted a cup of water that sat there. Lee admired her as she sat cross-legged on the bed and drained the glass.

“Please don’t tell me the towel and glass of water are part of some Junior Trailblazer ‘be prepared’ merit badge.”

Amanda snorted a little laugh. “I got up to use the bathroom earlier and it seemed like they might come in handy.”

“You also put my shirt on,” he said, smiling and reaching out to play with the hem. He loved the way it looked on her. Women had worn his clothes before - usually a partially buttoned (mostly unbuttoned) dress shirt - but it always felt presumptuous. He didn’t like the familiarity it implied.

Seeing Amanda in his shirt, however, made him feel both at home and a swelling of primal pride - like it was a marker that she was his - and that she’d chosen to bear that mark. Not really ready to express those thoughts and feelings in detail, but also not yet wanting to let the morning’s closeness go, Lee said, “That was an incredibly nice way to wake up.”

“Yes it was,” she agreed with a kiss on his lips as she lay down to cuddle up next to him. “I owed you one.”

“Hey,” Lee said, tilting his head down to look into her eyes. He wanted Amanda to understand and truly believe his sincerity. “It’s not a competition. I’m not keeping score and I hope you aren’t either. Pleasing you is a pleasure in itself, you’ll never ‘owe me’ anything.”

“Let’s call it a gesture of appreciation, then. One that I was more than happy to give.”

xxxxxxx

Feeling indulgent about their precious time together, Lee and Amanda decided on another day of motoring the  _ Merrywood _ instead of sailing. They made swift time to the yacht club that had been the site of  Clay’s ill-fated rugby game in which ‘Marco’ had been so rough on him. In addition to the game field, the club  had a private lagoon, which they now had time to enjoy.

Lee and Amanda walked hand in hand, both in bathing suits and flip-flops. Amanda wore a blue and green batik wrap tied around her waist and an open white blouse over her black Speedo. Lee’s light blue swim trunks matched her wrap and showed off his legs nicely, Amanda thought. His heathered-green short sleeved shirt flapped in the breeze as he swung their tote bag that contained towels and sunscreen.

While Lee set to the task of laying out their towels, Amanda disappeared, only to return with two lounge chairs and a waiter. The waiter held two fruity looking drinks on a tray and when Amanda had the chairs placed where she wanted them, she turned to take the refreshments. Lee fished in the bag and produced some bills to tip the waiter.

“One for you,” Amanda said, handing him a glass with an enormous wedge of pineapple balanced on the rim. “And one for me.” She sipped on the straw of her drink, which featured three tiny umbrellas.

“Thanks and good find on the chairs.”

“Never hurts to do a little recon.”

Lee shook his head and laughed as he watched her continue to sip her drink while she loosened and shed the wrap at her waist with one hand, sat down, and reclined on one of the lounge chairs, crossing her legs suggestively - all while staring at him with a small smile and ribald look in her eye.

Lee took Amanda’s drink from her and set both their glasses down carefully. Bending to their beach bag, he found the bottle of Coppertone.

“Take your shirt off.”

“Take my shirt off?” Amanda teased, using her usual evasive tactic.

“Yes. Take your shirt off and lie on your stomach.”

“Okay,” she said, pretending ignorance of Lee’s obvious plans.

Amanda shed her blouse and adjusted the lounge chair so that it was flat-out and she could rest on her stomach. Lee squeezed a generous amount of the sunscreen in his palm and rubbed his hands together to warm the lotion before applying it to Amanda’s shoulders. He massaged it in and rubbed her muscles languidly.

“Mmmmmm, that feels good,” Amanda said, her voice partially muffled by the towel she rested her face on.

Lee bent down to put his mouth right next to her ear. “Where have I heard that before?”

Amanda smiled and closed her eyes. With the next dollop of sunscreen Lee wasn’t as nice as before. This time he let it ‘blop’ onto the center of Amanda’s back without warming it up first.

“Aaahhhh! Lee Stetson, you’ll pay for that!”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you,” he promised.

Lee spread the sunscreen around on her back and finished covering her in the protective lotion, resisting doing naughty things as he rubbed her legs and thighs. Finally done, he shed his shirt and slathered Coppertone on his arms, legs, and torso.

Lee placed Amanda’s drink next to her, where she could reach the straw even from her face-down position. Laying back on his lounge chair, he sipped his drink and looked out at the water.

“Feels like vacation,” he observed.

Amanda sighed. “I haven’t been on a real one in years. Not since my honeymoon.”

“We’ll have to fix that as soon as possible.”

It was the first time the topic of the future had been referenced by either of them, and no sooner were the words out of his mouth than Lee was looking to Amanda to gauge her reaction.

She did nothing but smile dreamily and say, “Good idea.”

Lee hadn’t realized how insecure he’d been feeling about what their relationship would look like after this unexpected and amazing time together. It was kind of like summer camp, where the situation’s so intense and compressed, you can’t imagine life afterwards.

After half-an-hour or so of sun and draining their tropical drinks, they got up to take a dip in the water. Amanda applied sunscreen to her front before having Lee turn around so she could make sure his back was covered. She enjoyed treating him to long strokes up and down his well muscled back, over his shoulders, and up the nape of his neck.

As they entered the water, Amanda asked, “You gonna challenge me to a race?”

“I was thinking about it, but I’m pretty sure you’d win and what fun would that be?” Lee chuckled. 

“I could probably come up with a few ways to make it fun…” she said with a playful splash of water.

“Oh, ho, ho…” Lee said in a mock scold while catching her wrist and dragging her playfully into deeper water.

Amanda gave a little shriek of laughter as she ended up in his arms, her hands resting on his chest. His smooth and very fit chest. They looked at one another for a long moment before simultaneously leaning in for a sweet and lingering kiss.

Just as they parted, Amanda hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles at the small of his back. Lee cupped her bottom with one hand and held her steady with the other hand on her back as he squatted down and leaned forward to dip her in the water. Amanda let her head fall backwards to dunk her hair and when Lee lifted her back up, he kissed and  sucked the water that clung in the dip between her collar bones.

Her position slipping, Amanda could feel the start of his erection and she moved to kiss him with hungry laps of her tongue. Lee walked them deeper into the water and started one of his hands running up from her hip up to caress her breast.

“As much fun as this is, and as titillating as doing more might be, we really shouldn’t be doing this here.” Lee was the voice of reason.

Breaking apart, they separately swam several yards back and forth to let their libidos calm down.

xxxxxxx

Back at the  _ Merrywood _ , Lee took a short shower and put on a pair of loose shorts, forgoing a shirt. Amanda took her turn in the tiny bathroom and emerged with just a towel wrapped under her arms, which came down to  _ just _ below the juncture of her legs.

Lee turned when he heard the bathroom door open and they stood staring at each other with a long salacious look. Measured paces brought them together into a kiss that melded into the next one and the next and the next. Amanda’s towel only stayed up because of its position pressed between their bodies. Their kisses quickly grew urgent and they began pushing their hips together while gasping for breath between open mouthed kisses.

Her towel finally fell to the floor when Lee backed away and turned to lead them to the bedroom. Amanda quickly picked up the towel and tossed it on the table as she stepped lightly on her bare feet to follow.

Lee sat on the edge of the bed so that when Amanda walked to him, she stood between his legs. He hugged her around her waist and rested his head on her chest with his eyes closed, content to just be there with her. At least until he decided to move his hands to her rear and felt the curve of her bottom.

He didn’t have far to move his head to nuzzle her breast and lap at her nipple until it puckered and hardened under his tongue. Amanda kept her arms wrapped around his head, holding him close while she watched.

“I still can’t believe you’re letting me do this to you,” Lee said, looking up at her in wonderment.

“We’re doing it together, if you haven’t noticed,” Amanda corrected as she leaned to kiss him passionately.

Lee tumbled backwards bringing Amanda with him. They lay together, kissing and caressing. He worked one of his hands down. Finding her wetter than either the lagoon or the shower, he slipped a finger deep inside.

“You are so soft. And so sexy. And so wet.” Lee punctuated each sentence by pushing two of his fingers into her.

“Just for you,” Amanda panted.

Lee’s heart - and another part of him - swelled with pride and desire. “Oh, Amanda.”

Withdrawing his fingers from her, Lee moved to caress and kiss a path down her body, starting at her gorgeous neck. Amanda propped herself up on the pillows to watch as he reached her belly. His eyes were closed to soak in her beauty with deep breaths and reverent kisses. Each touch of his lips seemed to last forever in a kind of slow and sensual torture. The anticipation was tremendous. Amanda’s core was absolutely aching for his touch to return.

Her past lovers could have been considered more than adequate, and even fun. But Lee was both lustful and reverential, familiar and exciting, easy to be with and an arousing challenge.

Having had no idea when she’d started to make noise, Amanda heard herself moan when Lee’s lips  _ finally _ landed on her now-incredibly sensitive mound. Lee smiled into the thatch of hair where his mouth was positioned as he teasingly flicked his tongue out to taste her.

Looking up with love in his eyes, he proceeded to lick Amanda with long, languorous laps from her hot opening upwards. Lee resumed the thrusts with his fingers as he continued sucking, nosing, and mouthing at her in response to her moans of encouragement until he felt her interior muscles clenching relentlessly in climax.

Lee took his time crawling back up to lay next to her again. He kissed her tentatively and Amanda could taste herself on his lips. “Sorry, do you mind that?” he asked.

“I  _ love _ that.” Yanking his head to hers to initiate a sloppy kiss, he didn’t hesitate to respond. As they kissed and tongued at each others’ mouths, Amanda angled her hips to rub her sensitive and wet center against his thigh until she was panting again in a second release. Lee thought there was nothing more incredible than being in the presence of this woman in her moments of ecstasy.

After they’d lay in silence a while, Amanda spoke up softly. “You were right.”

“Usually am. But what was I right about this time?” Lee said while stroking her hair.

“When we were in Salzburg, you said that Emily Farnsworth had taught you patience and control. I’ve been getting most of the action here - you’ve shown a lot of control and have been very patient.”

“Not that kind of patience and control!”

Amanda giggled at the horror that flashed across his face. “Sorry.” She began to kiss Lee’s neck and ran a hand down his chest to tease one of his nipples into hardness. “Sort of,” Amanda said with a smile as she continued to caress his chest and craned her neck upward to kiss his lips.

A breathy laugh from Lee was cut short when he felt Amanda’s hand slipping beneath the waistband of his shorts. Instead he hummed a pleasured moan into her mouth. He was half-hard already and completely erect almost instantly. Amanda had been right, as much as he enjoyed sharing in her carnal satisfaction, he’d definitely been exercising a lot of control, which had pretty much run out.

Lee moved to cradle Amanda closer and reached around to squeeze her rear and hold her tightly against him as she continued to stroke his hardness with skilled diligence.

“Amanda,” he stuttered as his climax began and his cry of “Yesss” turned into groans of release.

As he began to wind down, Amanda carefully extracted her hand from his shorts.

“I think I’m going to need another shower,” Lee said before kissing her soundly and cuddling her to him again.

Eventually, they rose and took turns rinsing off before Lee prepared a light dinner. Once in bed again, they quickly fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms feeling tired and sated from the sun and sex.

**End of Chapter Eleven**


	12. Oh What A Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

A fabulously restful sleep had Amanda and Lee up much earlier than their other mornings together. They decided to sail that day’s course, which would lead them to the yacht club and  where ‘Marco’ had pretended to drown and Lee had watched Amanda try to rescue him.

By the afternoon, the weather had turned gusty, so they took the sails down early to have more control as they maneuvered the  _ Merrywood _ into a guest slip. With the stormy winds and chill in the air, Lee and Amanda stayed in for the evening and Amanda offered to cook.

“I’ll relinquish the kitchen as long as you make some of that poppy seed cake of yours.”

“Spotted those ingredients in the cabinet, didja?” Amanda said with a smile.

They talked about everything and nothing as she worked chopping vegetables and slicing thin pieces of chicken for a stirfry. Lee regaled her with tales of his misadventures as a young agent - and the lessons he’d learned from each of those escapades. She had him in stitches with laughter at her tales of misadventure with Phillip and Jamie’s various school projects, which often resulted in paint, mud, or glue all over the kitchen and/or den, as well as the residents of their household.

A natural lull in their conversation let a tinge of awkwardness come between Lee and Amanda. They knew their time together was getting short and that there was an awful lot they hadn’t said or even begun to approach about the monumental change in their relationship. True to the adage that great minds think alike, they spoke at the same time.

“Amanda…”

“Lee…”

Then they laughed nervously at the same time. Amanda looked back down to her knife work.

“Amanda, I was serious about taking a real vacation with you,” he said, head down, studying the paper towel he’d started to wring into shreds.

“You were?” Amanda consciously kept her tone light and didn’t look up, hoping to put him at ease.

“I was. I am.”

“Me too.”

They both looked up to catch the other’s eye and beamed enormous matching smiles at each other. 

“Okay, so how do we do this?” Lee said.

“We’ve been figuring out how to ‘do this’ pretty well, if you ask me.” Amanda laughed at her own joke as she sliced the chicken.

“No, this,” Lee gesticulated his hand between them to indicate that he meant their relationship  _ out _ of bed rather than  _ in _ it.

“Definitely uncharted waters,” Amanda acknowledged.

“I was only partly serious the other day about the sexual tension being the best part.”

“Oh yeah?” Amanda encouraged; she very much wanted to know what he was thinking.

“I spent a lot of years denying that I needed - or even wanted - a stable and permanent relationship.” Lee preemptively raised his hand. “Yes, there was Dorothy and there was Eva.”

Amanda wasn’t sure if she should stop what she was doing to go and sit by Lee to be close to him as he shared his personal insights. She worried that if she did, he might feel like he was under a microscope and clam up.

“I’m not sure I ever thought beyond the next assignment or the next adventure with Dorothy. With Eva… she had me wrapped around her little finger.”

“I noticed.” Amanda couldn’t help the snarky remark. Eva was not a good person. At all.

“Yeah… it was all a set up to make me believe in some kind of fairy tale ending. I can’t believe I fell for it.”

Lee sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Amanda made a decision. She put down her knife, washed her hands, dried them on a clean towel, and came around the counter to stand behind Lee and drape her arms around his shoulders.

“Go on…” she said, bending around and kissing him on the temple.

Lee swiveled on the stool to face her directly and rested his hands on her waist. “Until you came into my life, I had no idea what a real, fulfilling relationship with a woman could be - as a friend  _ or _ a girlfriend. It was all wham bam thank you ma’am and no strings attached or wanted. You really turned my world view upside down. In the best way possible. I don’t want to mess this up.”

His honesty and self-reflection went straight to her heart. Amanda placed her hands on his chest, seeking to ground them both. Beneath her palm she could feel his heart beating faster than a casual conversation would warrant.

“Look, we’re in this together. And we’re good together. You are a very special man, but you’re just a man. And I’m just a woman. Things will be new and awkward at times - for both of us - but we’ll figure it out together. We’ll use what we’ve got going in our favor and improvise the rest.”

“Okay.” Lee pulled her closer, barely giving her time to return the ‘okay’ before they kissed.

“If you want any kind of shot at that poppy seed cake, I’m going to need to get back to the kitchen,” Amanda said between kisses.

Lee sighed in an exaggerated parody of annoyance and disappointment. But as soon as Amanda went back to cooking, he stood to set the table.

After they’d finished the stirfry and done the dishes, Amanda pulled the poppy seed cake from the oven to cool. She turned around and found herself in Lee’s embrace.

“Hello,” he said huskily. “Come here often?”

“To the  _ Merrywood _ ? Oh, every 10 or 15 years. Or did you mean your arms? In that case, I’d say as often as I can.”

They joked and teased, hugged and kissed, laughed and sighed their way to the bedroom. Once there, the teasing faded away to focus on their bodily cravings. Clothes were shed with efficient haste and they were soon bare and beneath the covers.

Neither feverish nor lazy, their love making reflected the new nature of their relationship - in turns stable and thrilling. In keeping, the ramp up was steady until they both were gasping and groping with anticipation and excitement. 

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Amanda knew they were at a threshold and that they really should have ‘the talk.’ Before she could organize a coherent thought - much less words - Lee pulled back, looked intently into her eyes and said, “Leslie made me get tested.”

“I knew I liked her.”

“You hated her!” Lee snorted in protest, rolling off of Amanda where she’d been enjoying the solid feel of his body pressing into hers.

“I didn’t  _ hate _ her...” Amanda truly was happy that Leslie had been so responsible.

“Yes you did!”

“That’s because she wasn’t me,” Amanda declared with confidence, even though her statement wholly substantiated his side of the disagreement. To distract from that fact, she kissed and nuzzled his neck.

Chuckling, Lee admitted, “In the end, that’s exactly what ended things between us. I accidentally called her by your name.”

Now Amanda backed away and her eyes grew wide. “Not during…”

Before she could finish the thought, Lee rushed to clarify. “No. No! We hadn’t been, um, intimate yet. We were heading that way, which is why she asked me to have a full health screening.”

Amanda was more relieved than she would’ve liked to admit. It was one thing to know that Lee had been with many women, some of whom he’d felt deeply for. It would’ve been another thing entirely to know that Lee had gone to bed with the woman he’d wanted to buy ‘ _ her’ _ dress for. The one who’d wanted to hear  _ all about _ Lee when they’d met. But she admired the fact that Lee had honestly been trying to have a real, adult relationship.

“You must’ve really liked her to subject yourself to doctors, needles, and swabs.”

Resuming her light touches, kisses and caresses here and there, even while talking about his most recent past girlfriend, it dawned on Lee again how amazing Amanda was - how amazing they were together.

“I thought I did. When I called her ‘Amanda’ it really made me think about what was going on in my head about what I really wanted… and that what I really wanted -  _ needed _ \- was you.”

“Oh, Lee.”

He reached a hand to tip up her chin and capture her lips with his. The freedom and safety he felt, which allowed him to share his thoughts and feelings so openly was beyond anything he could’ve imagined with a lover. The swell of emotion filled his body with a sense of intimate urgency he was compelled to demonstrate.

“I had the Agency's full physical right before Station One. So I’m all set on that front,” Amanda mumbled against his lips.

Lee was just about to let her know he had condoms in his bag - a clean bill of health was one thing, but he didn’t want them to have to worry about any other unintended consequences of this ultimate step in their coupling. Amanda spoke before he could say anything.

“And I’ve been on the pill since about a year after Jamie was born, and stayed on it after the divorce. Helps keep things regular and I used to get these migraines, they were the worst and with the cramps too, just awful. Anyway, those pills are little miracles of science.”

Lee wondered if it was nerves that were making her so chatty. Or excitement. He hoped for both, it was how he was feeling.

“Yes they are,” he had to agree with her assessment of the wonders of birth control pills. “Now, hush up and kiss me.”

“Okay…”

Amada lay back as he hovered above her, kissing and touching her now with absolute abandon. He massaged her breasts, nipped at her neck, ran his hand down to caress her wet folds, and then whispered her name against her lips as he dove his fingers inside her.

He was dizzy with anticipation and as if reading his mind, Amanda moved to maneuver his hips to settle between her legs. Grinding her pelvis up into him, they both moaned at the contact. She lifted her hips to encourage him closer to her center. Lee used his right arm to balance his weight while reaching his left to guide himself into her.

After a slow and intense series of increasingly longer and deeper strokes, he was finally buried to the hilt inside her. Amanda stayed relatively still as he entered and filled her for the first time. Once fully seated, she reflexively squeezed her inner muscles, eliciting a deep groan of desire from Lee.

Eyes closed, Lee nuzzled into the crook of her neck as she laced her fingers through his hair and grasped at his back where she could feel his muscles flexing and working as his hips pivoted and thrust his hardness into her. 

Knowing it would’ve been just too much at first, Lee was now desperate to look into Amanda’s eyes as they made love. She gazed up at him and moved her hands to tenderly frame his face. Neither of them shied from the expressions of love in the eyes of the other.

The easy pace they set at first didn’t last long and Lee lowered himself to her again to place kisses along her neck. His moist, panting breath in her ear was driving her to the edge quickly. Wanting to feel him deeper and harder inside, Amanda hiked her legs higher and grabbed his hips to angle him just right.

With each stroke, Lee hit her pelvic bone from the outside and massaged her from the inside. Amanda was sure she’d never been this fulfilled physically or emotionally. Turning his head to find her lips, Lee kissed her hard and fast. The stimulation and the feel of his tongue winding around hers tipped her over the edge in a sudden climax. Her strong muscles clenching around him were more than enough to take him to meet her in their shared ecstasy.

“Amanda...” Lee gasped.

Pulsing deep inside her and panting his release in her ear as Amanda’s climax wound down roiled her body into another quick orgasm just as he finished.

They lay together in silence for a long while - sticky, happy, and oh, so satisfied.

**End of Chapter Twelve**


	13. Nobody Does It Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

Amanda opened her eyes to find Lee looking down at her, his gaze smoky and his lids heavy with desire. 

“I love you.”

She smiled up at him, her body already responding from the way he was looking at her and at hearing those words.

“I love you, too.”

Leaning into a tender kiss, they began a silent and intense union. The previous night had been intense too, but in a different way. This felt measured and purposeful, as if confirming all that they’d expressed with their bodies and words up until now.

His hands trailed over her, discovering her lines and curves in a deeper and more studied way. Amanda loved the feel of his muscles flexing as he reached and touched her. They acted out the secrets of each other’s pleasure that they’d learned even as they sought to acquire more knowledge.

Amanda grasped his erection and smoothed her palm over and over the sensitive skin, swirling her fingertips around the head at the top of each stroke. In turn, Lee used his fingers to rub and manipulate her wetness and slipped two fingers in and out of her. At the same time, their mouths crashed together, their tongues exploring and probing with erotic intensity. Amanda’s interior muscles squeezed around his fingers as he plunged them in and out - occasionally pulling all the way out to stimulate her, before diving them back into her tight, hot center. She was completely at his mercy and he wasn’t about to let up until her hips were bucking off the mattress and she was coming.

Lee never stopped kissing her until he’d withdrawn his fingers from her and brought his hand up to trace her lips with those same fingers. Still breathing heavily from her climax, Amanda sucked on the tips of his fingers to taste herself on his skin.

Lee huffed out a breath at the sight and feel of her tongue on his fingers. In response, Amanda used leverage to roll them over so that she could straddle his erection and then slowly lowered herself onto him. Sitting up straight with her hands on his chest, Lee reached for her hips and held on as she rose and fell in a slow rhythm. Needing to feel more of her and craving a faster pace, he pulled her down to him, where she slipped her arms around his neck to hold him close. They moved as one until his climax began and she took over most of the pleasurable work.

Cuddling on top of him as long as possible, Amanda finally had to roll away from Lee as he slipped out of her. Light kisses and caresses, and whispers of ‘I love you’ were exchanged and they could not imagine a better way to start a day.

After showering and eating - and checking on the weather forecast - they decided to motor again for the day rather than sail in the still stormy conditions.

Throughout the day - as often happened with new lovers - Lee and Amanda talked about their past experiences. Lee thought he knew all about her, but there was alway some new and unexpected fact that was cropping up about Amanda - like the fact that she knew a CIA agent - so he thought he should be proactive.

They were sheltered in the on deck wheelhouse, sitting huddled together - more than the weather actually called for - with Lee at the wheel and Amanda by his side.

“Amanda… Who’d you have in mind when you told ‘Ricky Joe’ that sex was always a major disappointment?” he asked as a kind of ice breaker.

“Huh?”

“You, me, the Lug Wrench Bar… you throwing a drink in my face…”

Amanda had mostly forgotten the line she’d improvised while playing his disgruntled ex-wife. Lee, on the other hand, had remembered every single word of the made up insult.

“Ohhhh, that!”

“Yes, that,” Lee confirmed. “Is it too much to hope that you were referring not only to Joe but also every other man you’ve been with?”

Amanda laughed and then looked at him seriously. “Lee, with all the things we’ve been doing the past few days, do you think I’ve only ever had unsatisfying sex?”

Lee hadn’t really considered it from that angle before, but had to admit she had a point. Either that, or those romance novels her mother read were extremely detailed and instructive.

“So, it’s not just me that’s brought all this out in you?” Lee kept his tone light in spite of a deep-rooted instinct to imagine the disappearance of any other man she’d ever been with.

“I have never,  _ ever _ felt as free or as passionate as I have with you. But I have had satisfying relationships in my life,” Amanda said with a voice that reflected her usual practicality.

“Don’t count on me to not be at least a little jealous of anyone you’ve ever been with. Especially after meeting Joe and seeing how much he still cares about you.”

“Don’t be jealous of Joe. As the father of my children, he’ll always be in my life and part of the family I love. But my marriage to Joe feels like it was about a million years ago. And I’m *in love* with you -  _ now _ .” Amanda leaned over to seal her statement with a kiss.

“Okay, so no being jealous of Joe. Who else?” Lee exaggeratedly pretended to be keeping an inventory as he continued to use humor to mask his primal envy.

“Lee…” Amanda wasn’t buying his nonchalance at all. “Just because I’m a mother of two from Arlington and want to die from embarrassment at the fact that my own mother is ordering from Rebecca’s Fantasies, doesn’t mean it isn’t normal and healthy that I’ve had a sex life.”

“Hang on… Rebecca’s Fantasies? Your mother? Really?”

“Yes, and I don’t want to talk about it.” Amanda shuddered at the thought and was only half-joking.

“Me either, actually,” Lee laughed.

“Anyway… Johnny Drake was my high school sweetheart…” she sighed at the memory. “The summer between high school and college we promised each other we’d be together forever even though we were going away to different schools. Well, you can guess how that worked out. But that summer… he was really sweet and even if we didn’t exactly know what we were doing, we sure had fun trying.”

“Okay, okay… that’s enough information on that,” Lee said, waving one hand around and around to signal that she should move on.

“Then one of those summers I was lifeguarding during college, there was Knox Dalton.”

“What’s a ‘Knox Dalton’?” Lee made a face of disgust.

“Very funny.”

Amanda wasn’t ashamed of the physical relationships she’d had and could honestly say she remembered them all with fondness.

“Sorry, it’s just that neanderthal instinct men have.”

“Which I do find kind of sexy,” she said, leaning in to kiss Lee’s cheek and squeeze his bicep. “But I’m not ashamed of my past.”

“And I don’t want you to be… there’s just something about imagining you with other men. So, Knox?”

“He was a rich country club kid, like they all were, but Knox was surprisingly down to earth. And, um, experienced,” she blushed a little. “We both knew it wasn’t ever going to be anything long term, which probably made it all the more fun and easy to be together. He even visited me at UVA a couple of times, but it ran its course eventually. And then I met Joe, but you know all about that…”

Amanda’s reluctance to talk about her divorce still bothered Lee. ‘Maybe in time,’ he thought, but wouldn’t press her on it now.

“And then there was Dave.”

“Dean.”

“Yeah, him.”

They both knew Lee was well aware that his name was Dean - he just couldn’t help making the old joke.

“We never really got that far, even though he was pressuring me about marriage. I just never wanted to.”

“Marry him?” Lee asked for clarification.

“That either. No, I never wanted to sleep with him. Dean was too… blah.” On the final word, Amanda let her tongue flop out as if spitting out something distasteful.

Lee laughed and hugged her close.

“I wanted someone with more passion… as you may have noticed.”

“Oh, I have,” he said right before Amanda put her hand on the nape of his neck and pulled him down to bestow a far-from-chaste kiss on his eager lips.

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying being together and lost in their own thoughts. Later in the afternoon as they chatted more, both Lee and Amanda knew the other half of their earlier talk was coming.

“You know I didn’t sleep with all of them,” Lee opened the conversation.

“I hope not! Four ‘not-so-little black books’ is a LOT of women!” Amanda had been eager and happy to help Lee when he appeared to be the connection between a string of murdered women - but she didn’t necessarily like to think about how well he’d known all of the women in those books.

“Not that I wasn’t a  _ bit _ of a bad boy.” He looked a bit sheepish and didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Not bad… promiscuous maybe…” Amanda posited.

“That sounds awfully puritanical.” Lee had no idea if she was joking or serious.

“A man with a healthy sex drive isn’t a bad thing. But--” 

Realizing that Amanda wasn’t judging him, but rather was getting at something he himself had felt, Lee cut her off. “It was a hell of an ego trip to be young, fit, and handsome and have my pick of women... and to have that kind of reputation among the guys. I’m not proud of the times I hurt someone - but for myself, I don’t regret anything - it’s all part of what got me here to you… And I guess I feel the same about your previous relationships.”

“Very healthy attitude.”

“Yes, we’re so mature, aren’t we?”

To ‘prove’ his point, Lee grabbed Amand around the waist and threw her gently over his shoulder. He playfully smacked her rear and quickly followed that with some rather intimate caresses and squeezes. 

“Yes, very mature!”

That night, guesting at the last yacht club on their voyage back to D.C., Lee and Amanda made love as if claiming each other for themselves for good.

**End of Chapter Thirteen**


	14. Take, Take Me Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes/Timeline: Set mid-Season 3 of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” (sometime after “The Wrong Way Home”) and I’ve moved the time of year to be June. Plot contrivances abound (which feels very much in keeping with both “Scarecrow and Mrs. King” and “JAG”). And I’ve had to futz with everyone’s ages, but not a huge amount - just go with it. Story and chapter titles are a callback to my Mac/Webb JAG fic “Beyond the Sea.”

As Lee and Amanda motored the  _ Merrywood _ to her home slip, they spent time cleaning up and putting things to order above and below deck… except the bedroom. They knew they’d be making a mess in there at least once more.

The day felt a little bitter sweet with their minds starting to shift back to the reality of their usual lives. Lee was mentally plotting how he could wrangle an out of town assignment for them - but he knew Amanda would want to be home when her mother and boys got back into town.

Amanda wondered how suspicious her mother would be if after she got home from her Florida bus trip in a couple of days, Amanda suddenly had a long work commitment, far away… as in far away at Lee’s apartment. There was no way she would miss Phillip and Jamie coming home, but that wasn’t for another two weeks.

With the  _ Merrywood _ back at her usual dock, Lee and Amanda prepared for a last meal and night on board.

“I hope this isn’t the last time we can do this for a while,” Lee said while washing the dishes from the spaghetti dinner they’d had.

“Same here.”

That was enough of a promise for him for now. Lee knew they’d work out the logistics of their new romance in time, but for tonight, he wasn’t going to dwell on it. In unspoken agreement, they moved to take turns using the boat’s bathroom and preparing for bed - Lee first, then Amanda.

She emerged and began to walk down the hallway to the bedroom. Lee was sitting on the edge of the bed looking incredibly sexy with his dark jeans hanging open at the fly, exposing his light blue boxers. It seemed so natural for him to be partially undressed and waiting for her.

Lee stared at Amanda, with his eyes positively devouring her body. It was like being undressed by his eyes, but the dark passion she could see brewing in his hazel-green gaze felt more like he was already making love to her.

With each step closer, Amanda undid one of the buttons on her blouse. Lee never took his eyes off her - though they darted quickly between her body, her face, her lips, and her eyes. Taking all of her in, he wanted to burn the image into his mind.

Lee lifted his hands and began to undo the buttons of his shirt with the same cadence that Amanda was undoing hers. Once she was finally standing directly in front of him, he jerked the shirt off his shoulders, one at a time, throwing it aside when he was done. Then in a swift movement, Lee shoved her top off of her shoulders and crushed her to him.

Cupping her rear to lift her as he stood up, Lee deposited them both on the bed. They finished removing the rest of each others’ clothes while kissing and trying to manage pulling back the covers of the bed.

They couldn’t help laughing at the clumsiness their haste caused, even between passionate kisses and intimate caresses. Lee reached for her waist and quickly had her on top of him, straddling his hips as he caressed her breasts and pinched at her nipples.

Leaving one hand on her chest, he reached for the patch of hair between her legs, where he could already feel her wetness. Amanda reached around her back and found his erection with her hands and rubbed him in time to the moans of pleasure Lee was making.

Not satisfied with the limited access that Lee had to her, nor with the awkwardness of her grip on him, Amanda rolled them onto their sides. From there, they had a much easier time reaching the erogenous zones of the other. Amanda groaned into his mouth as Lee’s fingers played over her slick and ready folds. He kissed her hungrily as his fingers found their way into her hot core again and again.

Dropping her head to his neck, up by his ear, she sighed, “Feels great” and redoubled the friction on his erection. In response, Lee bent to kiss and taste her lovely skin, wanting nothing else but to devour her. Just as she’d rolled them onto their sides before, Amanda now rolled Lee on top of her, ready and anxious to have him inside her.

“I want you,” Amanda said just as he obeyed her hands guiding him home. “Forever.”

“You’d better mean that,” Lee replied as he thrust deeply.

“I do.”

“I do, too.”

Their words and actions sent them tumbling toward release and they came together, breathing hard and panting out their love.

Throughout the night, they woke and caressed, cuddled and dozed, awoke and made lazy aimless love, and finally slept until they couldn’t deny that the day had begun and they needed to get up.

Lee called Clay from the dockside payphone to let him know that the  _ Merrywood _ was back - and in one piece. He also confirmed that his Corvette was parked at his place, the keys were left with the doorman, and that the car was in fine shape as well.

Amanda’s car was at the yacht club, so she drove Lee to his apartment where they sat in her car and hugged in silence for a long time.

“Lee, if I start kissing you, or get out of the car, or walk you upstairs, I won’t be able to make myself leave.”

“What’s so bad about that?” he asked, trying to get his lips on hers.

“I need to get home and do piles of laundry and clean up the house and buy groceries and make sure everything’s in order for when my mother gets home tomorrow night.”

“Okay,” he said at last and snuck a kiss on her lips just before opening the passenger door and stepping out. “I love you,” Lee concluded before he shut the door and walked to his apartment building - all the while planning how best to take advantage of the next 24 hours while Amanda’s mother was still away.

She missed him immediately, but Amanda was grateful for the hours alone to herself. The house wasn’t the same without its usual bustle, but she relished the distraction-free space to process the new developments in her relationship with Lee. Later on - around the time she usually did the dishes on most nights - after putting away all the laundry she’d done from her trip, Amanda found herself listening intently for a quiet tap on her back window. She didn’t have long to wait.

‘Tap, tap…’

Amanda flung open the back door, grabbed Lee by the collar of his jacket, and pulled him into the house. She slammed the door shut, pinned him up against the wall, and was kissing him before he could say anything other than, “Aman--”

**END**

**I could have endless fun with these two as they figure out how to introduce Lee into Amanda’s family… but I’m going to leave this particular journey here with them sailing off into their metaphorical sunset of love.**


End file.
